My Darling Caroline
by gingercat0319
Summary: Sequel to 'Sweet Caroline.' Draco and Hermione's daughter grows up. Does she find trouble, or does trouble find her?
1. Prologue

A/N: Well, here it is. The sequel to 'Sweet Caroline.' I can't promise I'll post every week like I did the last story. I'm having surgery tomorrow and will have to start dialysis in a few weeks. But I'll do my best. Thanks again, for those of you who read 'Sweet Caroline.' If you haven't read that yet, you might want to read that first. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

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Prologue

Narcissa sat beside her granddaughter in the waiting room at St. Mungo's. She looked down at the little girl and smiled. Caroline's curly white-blond hair bounced as she fidgeted. She just could not sit still.

It was a big day. Caroline was going to get a baby brother. She was going to be a big sister and was excited about all the things she would teach him. Her parents, Draco and Hermione, already named him Scorpius Robert Malfoy, but Caroline thought that was a dumb name. She decided she was going to call him Robbie. And that was that.

All those who knew and loved her knew that the world according to Caroline could not be disputed. She had very specific views on certain things – like mint chocolate chip ice cream was the best ever, and you were stupid if you didn't agree. Pink was her favorite color, and it should be everyone else's favorite color too.

Hermione and Draco's daughter was a handful. It was quite a shock to Draco's system when she came into his life. They became fast friends, and he was quite smitten with her when he found out she was his flesh and blood. Ever since he'd been trying to play catch up and learn about fatherhood the hard way.

Nothing was sacred in the Malfoy household. Not even the bathroom, where Caroline figured out how to unlock the door with magic and walked in on him sitting on the toilet.

"_Caroline, do you mind?" Draco yelled at her so she would go away. After all, he was engrossed in an article in_ The Daily Prophet _when she barged in._

"_No, I don't mind. But you really ought to light a match, like Grandpa Granger used to do," she said holding her nose._

"_Get what you came in here for and get out!"_

"_Oh, I didn't want anything. I just thought you might like some company."_

"_Well, I don't. So get out…NOW! And let me crap in peace."_

Caroline had a habit of showing up at the most inopportune times. There were countless instances when she almost walked in on her parents doing the naughty. It got to the point where Draco and Hermione had to sneak off to the cottage at one end of the Malfoy property just to have some privacy. And the cottage got used a lot. Draco put up special wards so that she couldn't get in and interrupt them.

Draco loved his daughter dearly, but he was more than thrilled to learn that Hermione was pregnant with their son. With Narcissa, Hermione and Caroline in the manor, he felt outnumbered. He would teach his son how to fly and how to play Quidditch. Caroline loved to fly, but really didn't take to Quidditch like her dad. So here they were in St. Mungo's trying to bring Scorpius Robert into the world.

Narcissa wished something would hurry up and happen soon because Caroline was getting too fidgety. Carol Granger was also in the waiting room. Hermione and her mother were getting along a lot better since the wedding.

The room Draco and Hermione were in had a silencing spell cast upon it, so no one outside could hear the moaning and screaming.

The moaning and screaming didn't come from Hermione. It was coming from Draco.

Hermione found quite a nifty contraction spell in one of the books in the Malfoy library. The spell made the father feel all the pain the mother would have felt. Every time Hermione had a contraction, Draco doubled over in pain. Hermione felt the contractions, but it was just a gentle feeling, not the excruciating pain that usually comes with childbirth.

Draco was writhing on the floor begging Hermione to reverse the spell. Hermione looked down at him from her bed and smirked. Prior to this day, Draco didn't realize what the pain was really like and thought having a baby was a piece of cake. Obviously he didn't pay attention in the childbirth classes so he missed the part about breathing properly and other important tidbits.

The healer took a look to see how much Hermione had dilated. She tried to tell Hermione that it was almost time to push, but she couldn't be heard over Draco's screaming.

"Don't you think he's suffered enough, Mrs. Malfoy?" asked the healer.

"Oh, trust me; there is no amount of suffering that's too much for him. The smug little prick."

"You bitch, take this spell off me noooooowwwwwwwww!" He doubled over with another contraction. He breathed heavily and sweat poured down his face. "Please, I beg of you, have mercy. I promise never to make another sexist comment as long as I live."

The healer looked down at him in pity. She looked back at Hermione with a questioning look.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right. I'll lift the spell. Thank the gods that men don't have children or else we'd all be extinct by now." She looked down at him once again. "You're such a pussy."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm a pussy," he said between breaths. "You are a goddess, and I'll put you on the pedestal you deserve. Now get this fucking spell off me!"

With a swish of her wand, the spell was lifted and the pain transferred back over to her. Draco collapsed in relief. "Fuck, how do you women do this all the time? If this is what childbirth is like, I'd never have sex again if I were you."

"It's time to push, Mrs. Malfoy," said the healer.

After what seemed a long time of pushing, Scorpius Malfoy finally made his appearance. Draco looked down at the blob and thought he was the ugliest baby he had ever seen. It was all bloody and gross – he had a mutant baby for a son.

Hermione looked between her legs and said, "Isn't he beautiful?" She started crying. The attendant took the baby away. Draco put his arms around her. She was delusional, the poor thing.

"Don't worry, love," he said. "We can always have more children."

She looked at him like he had two heads. "What? What are you talking about?" All of a sudden she knew something was off. "I think something is wrong."

The healer quickly examined the situation and smiled. "You're going have to push again, Mrs. Malfoy."

After a few short moments of pushing, the healer was holding a much smaller baby. "It's a girl," she said with a grin.

Hermione's head fell back partly because of exhaustion and partly in shock. "Two? Twins? But how? Why didn't she ever show up in the scans?"

"I guess she was hidden behind your son. She's a tiny thing, she is," said the healer. "Are you alright, Mr. Malfoy?" She looked over a Draco. He was much paler than usual.

Two mutant babies. Hermione will be crushed. He would have to be strong for both of them.

After Hermione was cleaned up, one of the attendants brought over Scorpius all cleaned up and swaddled in a blue blanket.

"Would you like to hold your son, Mr. Malfoy?"

"There must be some mistake. That's not my son. My son was all bloody and covered with some other stuff."

The attendant looked over at Hermione. "Is he really that daft?"

"He fell asleep during the childbirth films when we took our classes." She reached up and took the baby from the attendant. "They aren't born this clean, Draco," she said as she shook her head.

Draco tried to quickly cover his embarrassment. "I knew that. I was just in shock is all."

Another attendant brought over the little baby girl all cleaned up and swaddled in a pink blanket. She had a lot of brown hair, and someone had put a small pink bow in her hair. The baby was placed in the crook of Hermione's other arm. She reached down and kissed each baby on their heads. She then looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes.

"Aren't they beautiful?"

He was overtaken by the sight before him. The love of his life held two of the most perfect, gorgeous babies he had ever seen. Tears pricked at his eyes too.

"No, you're the one who's beautiful." He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached over and pushed a couple sweaty strands of her hair away from her face. "You are amazing." He bent down and caught her lips with his. He then gently kissed the heads of the two little Malfoys.

"Are we allowed to come in?" Narcissa stood in the doorway with Caroline by her side. After Draco gave them a nod, the others came into the room and stopped short.

Caroline's eyes got wide. She looked back and forth between the two babies. "Bonus! Two for the price of one!" She ran over to the bed to get a closer look at the babies.

Narcissa finally found her voice. "Twins? Twins! I think I need to sit down."

Everyone talked at once with excitement about the surprise. Draco held Scorpius while Narcissa held the little girl. Draco could have sworn that his son looked up at him and smirked.

"So what are you going to name her?" asked Narcissa. She looked down at the baby in her arms who was contently sucking her thumb.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other. Neither one of them had given a thought about what to name the little surprise. All of a sudden Hermione had an inspiration. She motioned for Draco to lean down so she could whisper in his ear.

He looked at her in surprise. "That's brilliant," he said with a grin. "Now I remember why I married the brightest witch of our age."

Hermione looked up. "Well, we were thinking…since Caroline is named after my mother," she looked over at Carol and smiled. "We thought it only fair to name this one after you, Narcissa."

Draco's mother stood there in shock. She was speechless as big tears rolled down her cheeks. When she finally found her voice, it cracked. "I would be so honored." She looked down lovingly at her namesake.

"Then it's settled then," said Hermione. "Everyone meet Narcissa Rose Malfoy."

Caroline reached her arms up. "Can I hold her? Please, please, please, please, please?"

"Go sit in the rocking chair, Caroline," said Hermione. For once she did what she was told, and Narcissa gently placed the baby in Caroline's arms.

"Now be gentle with her, little one."

"She's just like a real life baby doll." She gently rocked the chair back and forth. "Narcissa Rose is a pretty name, but I think we should call her 'Rosie'since we're going to call Scorpius 'Robbie.' And besides, her cheeks are all rosy too."

"Caroline, we are not going to call Scorpius 'Robbie,'" said Draco.

"Scorpius is just plain dumb and Narcissa is a mouth-full. I think Rosie and Robbie are so much better, don't you?" reasoned Caroline.

"I'm not going to win this one, am I?" Draco turned to his wife who was shaking her head.

"I think Rosie and Robbie are sweet names," said Narcissa. "When they get older, they can be called by their first names if they so wish."

Caroline was making quiet cooing noises to Rosie. "Wait until the kids at school hear about this. Can I take them to show-and-tell? This is something that Andrew Nott won't have." Caroline had been attending The Wee Witches and Wizards Academy for the Gifted, and Andrew Nott was her #1 enemy. They fought like cats and dogs, and they both found themselves in time-out a lot.

Carol bent down and gave Hermione a hug. "We should leave so you can get some rest." She straightened up and hesitated before she gave Draco a hug too, much to his surprise.

After Narcissa and Carol left, Caroline stayed behind and stood at the end of the twin bassinets. She couldn't stop staring at her new siblings.

With his wand, Draco widened Hermione's bed so he could lie down beside her. He started nuzzling her neck and whispering how he was going to "punish" her for putting that contraction spell on him.

Caroline looked over at them in disgust. "Sorry, babies, but you're going to have to get used to them doing that lovey dovey crap all the time."


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Wow! The response to just the prologue was overwhelming. Thank you so much for taking the time to review. A couple of you asked about Caroline's age. In the prologue she's still four. But in chapter 1 we're skipping ahead quite a few years. I hope you all don't mind. There will be flashbacks though.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. The surgery went well and the catheter seems to work. I won't officially start dialysis for another couple of weeks. I have more healing to do. Your reviews really lifted my spirits. :)

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 1

White fluffy snow was falling and covering everything in Diagon Alley. It was going to be a white Christmas for certain. Shoppers were bustling about doing their holiday shopping.

A young woman in a white hooded cloak walked swiftly down the street. She was headed toward Flourish & Blotts to see if the magazine had arrived yet. Today was the day that _Cosmo Witch_ magazine was to hit the bookstores and newsstands. Today was the day that her photo would be in said magazine. And today was the day that her father would kill her for doing what she was warned not to do.

When nineteen-year-old Caroline first approached her father about modeling for _Cosmo Witch_, he thought she wasn't serious. This was just another one of her grand schemes. But he soon realized the seriousness of the issue when he spoke with other fathers of magical socialites and found out that their daughters were also going to be featured in the magazine. That's when he put his foot down. His daughter was not going to be flaunted in some cheesy magazine. But he should have known better.

True to Caroline form, she ignored him. If she wanted it, nothing could stop her; she went out and got it. She was too short to be a professional model, but the opportunity to be photographed by professionals would be fun and something she just couldn't pass up. Plus, her father would forgive her. He always forgave her for her antics. She was his "cupcake" after all.

Pulling the hood over her head, she entered the store. She didn't want to be identified in case the photos in the magazine weren't very good. There were several people standing at the magazine area looking at various publications. There were just a couple of witches looking through _Cosmo Witch_.

She stopped cold when she saw the cover. Staring back at her was her own image. She had made the cover of _Cosmo Witch_ – the most widely read magazine for sophisticated witches all over the world. She was dressed in a deep purple, curve-hugging, one-shouldered dress. The dress was adorned with a wide belt with a buckle covered in diamonds. Her hands were on her hips in that all so familiar pose on most magazines. Her curly blond hair cascaded down over one shoulder. The expression on her face was that of a secret being kept with the slightest hint of a smirk. Her image winked at the reader. There was no way she was going to able to hide this from her father.

Grabbing a copy, Caroline walked over to one of the farthest benches and sat down to see what was inside the magazine. She easily found her photos. At the top of the two-page spread was the title "Sweet Caroline." There were several photos of her in various soft and elegant outfits. One picture showed her swinging back and forth on a swing with her dress flowing behind her. She thought all the pictures were tastefully done, and she was quite pleased with them. That is, until she turned the page.

Her heart stopped. On the following two pages the title read, "Not So Sweet Caroline." These pictures were a little naughtier. The photographer asked her to model some other outfits 'just for fun' and assured her that the racy photos would not be in the magazine. How gullible she was!

One of the pictures showed her in a black corset with her breasts almost spilling out over the top. Another photo showed her with nothing on but a bra and knickers bending over a billiards table. But the worst one was of her with nothing on – and it happened to be the largest photo on the two-page spread. She was lying on her side with one leg over the other to hide her you-know-what. Her breasts were hidden by a heart-shaped box of chocolates. She seductively bit into one of the chocolates and closed her eyes in ecstasy. These photos showed off her curves and left almost nothing to the imagination.

A pale hand reached from behind her a grabbed the magazine. "Oh, ho, ho. What have we here?" said a familiar voice.

Caroline quickly turned around and glared at her brother. "What are you doing here, Robbie?"

"Oh, just some Christmas shopping like everyone else. It's a free country, you know." He looked down at the magazine and grinned. "You are so dead. Dad is going to kill you."

"Give that back!" she cried as she tried to grab the magazine from his slender hands. He raised it out of her reach and continued looking at the pictures.

The gears in Robbie's head were turning. He was a very shrewd teenager and knew a money-making opportunity when he saw one. "Since you're in the magazine, will they give you complementary copies?"

"I suppose so. Why?"

"Oh, nothing." He tossed the magazine back to his sister. "Well, I better go and buy some new dress robes for your funeral. I need to tell Rosie. Maybe we should sell tickets to your execution."

Caroline scowled at her brother as he left the store. "Prat," she muttered.

"I think they're nice pictures." Caroline was so absorbed in her thoughts about her father's possible reaction that she didn't notice a little boy sitting on the floor nearby. He was sitting Indian-style with the magazine on his lap.

"Excuse me?" She looked down at him, her hood still on her head.

"I said I liked your pictures, but you're prettier in person. Are you an angel?"

She chuckled. "I assure you, I'm no angel."

"Well, you look like an earth angel. My mum is an angel up in heaven," he said, his big brown eyes looked sad.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Caroline looked down at him with sympathy. "I'm sure your mum is a beautiful angel. How old are you?"

The curly brown-haired boy answered, "Five, almost six."

"Don't you think you're a little bit young to read _Cosmo Witch_?"

"I'm reading this because I can't reach those." He pointed to the row of gentlemen's magazines high above his head.

Caroline laughed at the funny little boy. "You shouldn't be reading those types of magazines anyway. What would your father say if he caught you?"

"Aw, he wouldn't care. He'd just say…" The five-year-old lowered his voice to mimic his father. "Julian, most of the women in this magazine have fake boobs. Never marry a woman with fake boobs." He looked up at Caroline. "Are yours real?"

Caroline's eyes widened in surprise. What vulgar language coming from a little boy. She liked this kid.

"Yes, mine are real," she said as she pulled her cloak tighter to cover herself more. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Well, I think you could be in one of those magazines," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

Caroline snickered. "Are you flirting with me?"

"I don't know what flirting is. I'm only five."

A deep voice called from another aisle close by. "Julian, where are you? We need to go."

"Oops. That's my papa. I need to go. It was nice meeting you, angel." He got up and scurried off to find this father.

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"Are you serious?" He asked you that?" exclaimed the girl taking a sip of her butterbeer.

"Yeah, Em, the little shit asked if me if my boobs were real." Caroline met two of her closest friends for lunch and was telling them about the little boy she met at the bookstore. They were cracking up with laughter.

Emily and Tabitha had been close friends with Caroline since their days at the Academy for the Gifted. Emily and Caroline met through Carol of all people. Emily's parents were muggleborn and had been patients of Carol's. Carol introduced them to Hermione when Emily's mother was telling Carol about all the strange things that would sometime happen around Emily. Hermione convinced them to enroll Emily in the Academy. Caroline and Emily hit it off from the start.

Tabitha's parents moved to wizarding London from New York City. Her mother was a witch and her father was a Muggle. She was raised as a witch much to her father's dismay. He didn't quite "get" the magical world. Tabitha always spoke her mind – much to her friends' embarrassment sometimes. Emily was always telling her to edit her thoughts before blurting them out.

Emily and Tabitha were looking over the magazine and critiquing each photo. Some of the other girls who posed for the issue only had two or three of their pictures in the magazine. Caroline was the only one who had four total pages.

"You look kind of fat in this one," Tabitha pointed out.

"You're starting to sound like Andrew. He's always telling me I'm fat." Andrew Nott and Caroline had a strange on again/off again relationship. Lately it was more off than on.

"Andrew is a douche. There isn't an ounce of fat on your body, Caroline," assured Emily. "Most witches, me included, would kill to have a body like yours."

"Speaking of bodies, check out the guy that just walked in here. He's absolutely yummy," said Tabitha. She and Emily were facing the door; Caroline had her back to it so she turned around to see what her friend was talking about. Unfortunately, the man turned around so that only his backside could be seen.

"Nice arse too," agreed Emily.

"I'd like to hook up with him a few times," said Tabitha. Caroline turned back around and rolled her eyes at her two horny friends.

"Hook up? What does 'hook up' mean anyway?" asked a little voice nearby. All three looked over and saw the five-year-old waiting for an answer.

"Hey, that's the little boy I was telling you guys about."

"Hiya, angel," greeted Julian with a big smile.

"Hi…Julian, is it? What are you doing here?"

"Duh. What do you normally do in a restaurant? Go fishing?"

"What a smart ass," said Caroline.

"Better than a dumb ass," Julian countered back.

The girls giggled. "Where's your father?" asked Caroline looking around.

"He's over there talking to some old people. We just moved here and he found some old school pals he hasn't seen in a long time. He's been doing that all day. He knows everybody," he said with a sigh.

"Why don't you sit here with us until he's finished?" offered Emily.

"Okie dokie. I'm thirsty. Can I have a sip of your drink?" Not waiting for an answer, he grabbed Caroline's glass and took a drink. "Eww, yuck. What is that?"

"It's called an 'orgasm.' And you're too young to have one," laughed Caroline.

He made a face. "I'm never going to have one of those again."

"Oh, I bet you'll change your mind in a few years," said Tabitha with a laugh.

"I bet not."

"Here, I'll go up to the bar and get you something proper for someone your age."

"Like a firewhiskey?"

"No, not like a firewhiskey," said Caroline shaking her head. She got up and headed toward the bar.

Julian continued to entertain Emily and Tabitha when Tabitha elbowed her friend. "Oh my gods, oh my gods, that delicious guy is coming this way! Merlin is he gorgeous."

Julian turned to see who she was talking about. "That's who you want to hook up with?" he asked. "That's my papa! You want to hook up with my papa?"

"That…is your father?"

The tall, dark-haired man strode up to their table. He had sparking brown eyes and a killer smile. His shoulder-length hair was a little messy, in a sexy way, but complimented his full beard. "Ladies, I hope my son isn't bothering you."

"Oh, no. Not at all. He's quite the charmer," said Emily. "Would you like to join us?" Tabitha was on her other side hyperventilating.

"Yeah, papa. Sit down. These are my new friends." He looked past his father and pointed toward Caroline who was walking their way with a drink in her hand. "And that's my angel."

The man turned around and stared at the vision walking toward him. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Caroline stopped and looked at the man curiously. There was something familiar about him. It was the longer hair and beard that was throwing her off. All of a sudden recognition hit her.

"Blaise?"

He opened his arms wide and grinned. "In the flesh, darlin'."


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I know, 50 lashes with a wet noodle. Sorry to take so long to post this chapter. I finally started dialysis and then I got sick with the flu. Yesterday was the first day I've felt "normal" in a long time. Your nice comments and reviews have really helped me through this rough time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I was wondering if anyone caught the "Bewitched" reference? Many of you are too young to remember that show.

A big thank you to Lorelynn for translating "Sweet Caroline" into French.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 2

"Aren't you going to give your old Blaise a hug?" Blaise held his arms out wide.

Caroline still stood there in shock. She couldn't believe he would remember her much less recognize her. Of course she remembered him. She had a picture of him in her dresser drawer that she had since she was a little girl. Every once in a while she would take a peek at the photo of Blaise winking back at her. She still had a little crush on him even after all these years.

She put the drink down and walked over to hug the tall Italian. As she put her arms around his waist, she was reminded of his scent. She remembered that he always smelled so good when she was younger. She closed her eyes and breathed in his aroma.

Although he was enjoying her softness, Blaise broke the hug and held her at arms' length. "Well let's take a look at you." He took her hand and spun her around. She felt a little uncomfortable and her face flushed a little when his eyes lingered on certain places a little too long. "Well, one thing's for sure…you're not little Caroline any longer. I bet Draco has to fight men off left and right."

Embarrassed and a little flustered, Caroline sat down as Blaise took the chair next to hers. She looked over to study him closely. He was the same Blaise she remembered – bright brown eyes that wrinkled in the corners each time he laughed. He also had the same smile that would melt the coldest of hearts. She reached up and stroked his face. "You've grown a beard. Hmmm, I don't like it."

"Always one to hold back your opinion," he chuckled. "Tell me what you really think."

"I kind of like it," said Tabitha. "It makes you look so…distinguished." She was definite flirt mode. Emily just rolled her eyes. "I'm Tabitha by the way. And this is Emily."

"This is my father's friend, Blaise Zabini." Caroline said as she motioned toward him.

"Well, I hope I'm your friend too. And I see you've met Julian."

The magazine the girls were looking at lay on the table. Blaise picked it up and looked over at Caroline with a raised eyebrow. He read some of the titles of the articles surrounding her picture. "New Tips for More Luscious Lips" and "25 New Ways to Please Your Wizard" were just a couple of the titles. Blaise snickered at that one.

"Very nice. How did you land the cover?" he asked as he studied her photo. He was trying to play it cool, but he couldn't take his eyes off the girl on the cover. Her heart-shaped face was surrounded by a cascade of white-blond hair that fell in front of one shoulder. Her lips were slightly apart as if she was waiting for someone to kiss them. She was blond, curvy and beautiful. And the real thing was sitting right next to him.

"Come on," said Tabitha. "With a body like that, who else would they pick?"

"True, true," he agreed as he nodded. He flipped through the magazine and stopped at the first two-page spread with the nicer pictures of Caroline in various outfits and gowns. In a word, they took his breath away. He knew what Caroline would kind of look like based on the magic mirror they tinkered with all those years ago. But the image from the mirror paled in comparison to the real deal. Caroline watched him - trying to gage his reaction, but he revealed nothing. His cool mask held its place. She dreaded the moment when he would turn the page.

As he started to turn the page, Caroline's heart sped up. She reached over to grab the magazine from his hands, but he playfully slapped them away. "Now, now, young lady. Hands off." He turned the page to the naughty pictures and gawked. _Those_ pictures got a reaction from him. "Holy smokes." He cleared his throat. "These are very…um…" This was one of the few times he was rendered speechless. He couldn't believe this was his sweet little Caroline.

"This one's my favorite," said Julian as he pointed to the picture of Caroline in the tight black corset. He sat in his father's lap looking at the pictures along with him. In a loud whisper, he said, "And her hooters are real."

"Julian!" Blaise scolded, totally embarrassed but at the same time trying to hold back a smile.

"Well, they are!" announced the little Zabini. "I asked her."

Caroline tried to hide her red face. "You really need to teach him some manners." She wished the floor would open up and swallow her. Her two comrades weren't helping much, sitting on the other side of the table laughing hysterically with tears falling down their cheeks.

Blaise laughed. "Said the little girl who tried to get into my pants to see my family jewels."

"You didn't!" laughed Tabitha. "I wish I would have been around to see that."

"You wouldn't believe all the stuff this little lady came up with. Wanting to see my family jewels was just the beginning."

"You never did let me see them," Caroline said with a sly smile.

Blaise leaned in close so only she could hear. "Be careful what you wish for," he said seductively. His hot breath on her ear sent shivers down her spine.

Julian looked down his pants. "Do I have jewels, Papa? I don't see any. Maybe the nargles got 'em."

The girls laughed. "He's adorable," said Emily.

"You know, when Caroline was little, I swore I would kill myself if I had a child like her. She was a hellion." He nodded toward Caroline. "And now I have Julian who is not much different," he said with a laugh as he hugged the little boy.

"Karma's a bitch, huh?" said Caroline with a smirk.

"Most definitely."

"Oh, sorry to hear about your wife. Julian told me that she passed away."

"Thanks, but Julian's mother and I never married. I was never good enough for Luna," he said with a sad smile.

"I don't believe that for a second. I didn't know you two finally got together. I'm sad to hear she's gone. What happened?"

Blaise thought it was time to change the subject. He didn't want to talk about something so depressing. "Now you girls look like you could use a refill. I see a couple of butterbeers here. What are you having?" he motioned to Caroline.

"She's having an 'orgasm.'" piped up Julian. Several other patrons nearby sniggered at him.

"I realize I have that effect on women, but really, what are you drinking?" teased Blaise.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "It's a drink, you moron." She raised the tumbler to her lips to drain the last bit of liquid from it. Under her breath she mumbled. "It's the only kind I'm getting these days."

But Blaise caught the comment as he got up from the table to get the drinks. Under his breath he said, "I might be able to help you with that." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as he passed behind her.

Caroline's heart sped up and pounded in her ears. She was shocked that he had heard her – and even more shocked at his reply. What the hell was she doing? Flirting with a man almost twice her age for gods sakes. He was way out of her league. What was she thinking?

Blaise brought the drinks back and placed the butterbeers in front of Emily and Tabitha. He placed Caroline's drink in front of her as he sat down with his own drink.

"What's this?" asked Caroline. She looked at the purple drink with interest.

"It's a 'screaming orgasm' – the only kind worth having," he said with a wink as downed his firewhiskey. Caroline choked on her drink and started coughing. She turned her pink-tinged face away from him.

"Papa," said Julian. "I gotta drain the dragon."

"Drain the dragon?" asked Emily.

"Oops, nature calls." Blaise got up and scooped the little boy up in his arms. "Excuse us, ladies," he said as they headed toward the restrooms.

When they were out of earshot, Tabitha said, "Oh, my fucking Merlin. It is hot in here or is it just me? Just the way he looks at you…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Caroline feigning ignorance.

"Don't be coy with me. Can't you feel the electricity between you two? He's totally into you. He wants you – bad."

"Don't be ridiculous. He was just kidding around; you can't take someone like that seriously. He wouldn't be interested in someone like me anyway. And besides, he's so…old."

"Are you kidding me? Look at him! He's rich, he's mature, he's hot, he's now single…"

"He's my father's best friend. My _old_ father's best friend," reminded Caroline.

"She does have a valid point," said Emily. "He's got to be at least 37. That's pretty old."

XXXXXXXXXX

Blaise was helping Julian wash his hands after he did his business. "Caroline sure is pretty, isn't she?" asked the small boy.

"Yes, she's very pretty," agreed Blaise.

"She kind of looks like Mum. Don't you think? She has the same hair color and all."

"There are some similarities, but not really that many."

"I know. But I think you should ask her out on a date anyway."

"Now son," reprimanded Blaise with a frown, "I know that you mean well and that you like Caroline a lot, but you know very well why I can't ask her out." He started to lead his son out of the restroom.

The little boy gave his father a disappointing look. "I know. But it was worth a try," he shrugged.

XXXXXXXXXX

"His age is just a small technicality," said Tabitha.

"Speaking of small, here comes Andrew," said Caroline with a sigh. She closed her eyes and waited for the explosion. Emily saw what was about to happen and put a silencing charm around their table.

"What the fuck, Caroline?" The tall handsome wizard slammed a copy of the magazine in front of her. His eyes were murderous. "Who told you that you could pose for this magazine?"

"Excuse me?" Caroline stood up, her fists clenched. "What do you mean who told me I could pose in the magazine? I did. I answer to no one."

His face was getting redder by the second. "You should have asked me first. I would have told you NO! Now the entire wizarding world had seen my girlfriend's bits."

Caroline stood on her tip-toes and got in Andrew's face. "First of all, I did not show my bits. They were covered up, thank you very much. And second of all, I'm not your girlfriend, so you have no say. Even if I was your girlfriend, you'd still have no say. Now go away. We were having a good time until you came along."

Andrew grabbed the magazine from the table and shook it in Caroline's face. "You're so hell bent on wanting everyone to see your body? Well, no problem, sweetheart," he said menacingly. "I'll show the world the real Caroline. I wonder what your dear old dad would say then?" He turned on his heel and disapparated.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" asked Blaise who approached the table holding Julian's hand. He sat down and started to eat the sandwich that was just served to him. "What? Does he have naked pictures of you or something?" Blaise teased.

Caroline was silent and shrugged her shoulders. Blaise almost choked on this food and swallowed hard.

"Oh, Caroline," he said disapprovingly.

"Now don't go on sounding like my father. Besides I really don't know if there are pictures of me. I've never seen any."

"You can't take any chances. Let me just snoop around and see if Andrew does have pictures or video of you."

"So you'll snoop around for me, huh? Or do you just want to find some pictures of me naked?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Blaise looked at her with his dark brown eyes. Something in the way he smiled and gazed at her told her that he wouldn't need pictures. A shiver went up her spine and the temperature in the room rose a few notches.

Their spell was broken by an owl that swooped by their table and dropped a red envelope in front of Caroline.

"Cool," said Julian. "You got a howler. I've never seen a real howler before. Open it up!"

"It's from my dad. He's sent them to me before when I got suspended from school."

"You got suspended from Hogwarts? What did you do?"

"Which time?" She reached over and grabbed the envelope. "I'll have to tell you about them sometime."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not." She started to carefully open the howler. It wasn't from her father. It was from a very pissed off and frazzled Hermione.

"_Caroline! How could you? You've gone too far this time, young lady. You're going to be the death of him yet. Thanks to your very selfish stunt, your father is in St. Mungo's. He's had a heart attack!"_


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: I wish I could post weekly like I did "Sweet Caroline." But sorry to say it will probably be every two weeks or so on this one. I'll do my best to post faster, but with all that's going on, that might be hard to do. Thank you so much for your patience. I am feeling better though.

You'll find out what happened to Luna and what Caroline did to get suspended from Hogwarts in later chapters. And you're probably wondering what happened to Narcissa. She'll appear later on as well.

Thanks to LolaCherryColaGirl for offering to translate "Sweet Caroline" into Danish.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

Chapter 3

Long, thin fingers tapped anxiously on the crisp white sheets. Draco wondered what the hell he was doing in the hospital and when the hell can he get out. The healers gave him several potions to steady his heart and calm him down, but trying to calm Draco was like trying to calm a bull in a china shop. Hermione sat on the edge of the bed pushing away a stray lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes.

"People in their 30's just don't have heart attacks," complained the irritable patient.

"Oh yes they do, and you just proved it." Hermione was the voice of reason in times like these; although she sent Caroline that howler in the heat of the moment and didn't show much reasoning at the time. Seeing her husband collapse sent her temporarily off the deep end. Caroline had gone too far this time. Draco specifically told her that she couldn't participate in the photo shoot and (not surprising) Caroline went behind his back and posed anyway.

"It was just a mild attack. I'm fine now, so they can let me go."

"I don't think so. You're staying in this hospital even if I have to hex you. You've been trying to do too much lately anyway. This is your body telling you to slow down."

"Blaise will be here soon. I've asked him to help out since Nott fucked up so badly. I can't believe he blew the Culpepper acquisition. It was a simple deal. Even Rob could have done better. Blaise is going to look into what other messes Nott left before I fired him."

"Maybe you should let Robbie help you more. He's got a good head for business. He must take after his father." With a smile, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his nose. Before she pulled away, he grabbed her wrists. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers. Even after all these years, she felt a tingle up and down her body when he kissed her.

As their kiss deepened, the heart monitor he was hooked up to started beeping furiously. Hermione sighed and quickly pulled away. "Looks like no more hanky-panky for you for a while," she said.

He frowned, "Not even sponge baths?"He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Sponge baths are okay. I'll send for the medi-witch to come in and give you one," she teased.

Draco grimaced. "Have you seen what she looks like? Snape would make a more attractive woman."

"Okay, I'll send Snape in to give you a sponge bath."

They both looked at each other and said, "Ewww."

Hermione got up from the bed. "On that note, I'll bring the kids in. They've been really worried about you."

"Not Caroline. I don't want to see her just yet."

Caroline sat in the waiting room fidgeting. Her hand kept tapping on the arm of the chair. Blaise had enough and put his hand on hers. "Be still."

They rushed to St. Mungo's immediately after receiving the howler. Emily and Tabitha offered to take Julian to the joke shop.

"I could have killed him, Blaise. How could I be so selfish and stupid? He hates me, I just know it. Everyone hates me."

"Everyone will get over it. Just give it time. Now you know that you can never pose for a magazine again." Although in his mind, he wish she would.

She bit her lip and looked down. "Well, I…"

"You what…"

"Well, I kind of signed a contract with them. So I have to do another photo shoot with them again." She wrung her hands and kept looking down.

"You what? What do you mean you _kind of_ signed a contract? Did you even read it?" He stood and put his hands on his hips.

"Well, kind of." She looked up but couldn't look him in the eye. "Okay, no, not really. I got caught up in the moment and just signed it."

"Ragazza stupida!" He threw his hands up in the air. "You NEVER sign a contract without reading it first. You know better than that."

"Did you just call me stupid?"

"Shit for brains. That's what you have, Caroline." He had his hands on either side of her head shaking it.

"Gee, Blaise. I pose half naked in a magazine, yet you have a cow that I signed some stupid piece of paper. Now I know where your morals stand."

"Darlin', I have no morals. Now please tell me you have a copy of this contract."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Would you take a look at it for me? Gratis, of course," she smirked. She remembered that word from when she was little.

"Gratis, my ass. You owe me, you little witch." He put his finger under her chin and lifted it. "And I'm good at collecting," he said with a wicked smile.

Caroline folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "And if I refuse?"

"No one refuses Blaise Zabini."

She stepped closer to him and rose up on her tip-toes pressing her soft body up against him as she reached her arms around his neck. Her face tilted up and she looked at his lips. They smelled like peppermint. She really, really wanted to kiss those lips. But she bypassed them and whispered in his ear instead, "There's a first time for everything."

Before Blaise could respond, Rosie and Robbie came out of their father's hospital room. Rosie scowled at her big sister. "He would like to see you now."

Caroline started to walk toward the door when Robbie stopped her. "Not you…him," he said as he pointed to Blaise. "I think he's seen enough of you today, sis."

Blaise looked over at the crestfallen girl. "Don't worry, I'll smooth things over." He felt really bad for her. She didn't deserve this.

He strode into Draco's room and plopped down on one of the chairs. "Did your ticker give out on you, old man?"

"Old man? You're three months older than I am, mate." He gave his long-time friend a smile. "This was just a small thing. Everyone's making a big deal out of nothing. I am surprised that you're in town already. I wasn't expecting you 'til tomorrow."

"I just had to escape. You know how it is."

Draco nodded in agreement. "Listen, I know your plate is full, but I'd like to ask another favor of you."

"Sure, you know I'd do anything for you. What is it?"

"I need you to watch over Caroline for me."

"What? I'm not a baby sitter, Draco. She's a grown woman; she can take care of herself. Plus, I don't think she'd take kindly to someone watching over her."

Draco dropped his head back on the pillow and sighed. "I know, I know. It's just that she's always in trouble for one reason or another. Not all of it's on purpose, of course, but somehow she finds herself in these…situations. Like this magazine for instance. I just need someone to watch out for her – keep her out of trouble."

"Are you crazy? You must be on some wicked pain killers if you want _me_ to watch over your daughter. I'm the last person you want. Just hire a bodyguard to protect her."

"I've already done that but she's outwitted them. I couldn't get anyone competent enough to do the job. Then I realized I needed to get someone who is just as sneaky as she is. And that person would be you."

"Thanks…I think," said Blaise with a frown. "Listen, I'd love to help you out, and you know I'd do _almost_ anything for you but…"

"If you're worried about watching over Julian, my Rosie can help out. She's a natural with kids. And Rob will do any research you will need to do about the Nott situation. You guys can stay at the manor. Also, Hermione said she could help with planning…"

Blaise rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "Okay, okay, I got it. I can't really refuse can I?"

Draco folded his arms over his chest. "You know damn well that no one refuses Draco Malfoy," he said with a smirk.

Blaise read Julian a bedtime story and tucked him into bed. It was nice to be back at the manor. He didn't realize how much he missed it. He was staying in the suite of rooms that he used all those years ago when he spent a lot of time there.

It had been a long day, and he decided that the day needed to be washed away, so he headed toward the shower. Shedding all his clothes, he stepped into the large tiled stall with shower heads pointing toward him from several directions. The hot water felt so good he could have stayed in there for hours. He reflected over the day's events. How did he get roped into all this? Especially the situation with Caroline. Not that he minded watching over her, he would love to do that – but in a different capacity. He had a hard enough time keeping himself out of trouble, but now he had to keep her out of trouble as well. He had a gut feeling this was going to be disastrous.

After turning off the shower, Blaise wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the stall. He was about to grab another towel to dry off when he was startled to see Caroline sitting on the bathroom counter.

"Shit, Caroline. Don't scare me like that. Do you want to give me a heart attack?"

"I just thought you'd like some company," she said as she eyed the towel around his waist. She hoped it would fall. Her eyes moved up and down to drink him all in. Standing before her was a real man. Broad shoulders, hard abs, a chest she would love to run her hands over. And those arms – oh gods, would she love to have those arms wrapped around her, crushing her to his body. Damn, he was beautiful.

The half-naked Italian stood in front of the mirror surveying his face. He had a hard time not looking over to the witch sitting on the counter next to him. She was wearing a tank top that was really too small that stretched over her breasts. Her nice, full breasts. She also wore little boy shorts that showed off her legs. Her nice, long legs. Oh, was he in trouble. He tried to focus on the mirror.

"I heard that Daddy wants you to watch over me. You know that's not going to work, don't you?"

"And why not?" he asked as he grabbed a razor.

"Because no one can control me. Many have tried – all have failed," she laughed.

"I don't want to control you, Caroline. Your dad is just worried about you. He doesn't want to see you hurt. He loves you very much, you know?" He took the can of shaving cream and shook it. He began to lather the frothy foam over his face.

"Why are you shaving? Was it something I said?"

"Just time for a change. I was getting tired of it honestly." He ran the razor down his jaw. Caroline watched, mesmerized. The beard was slowly disappearing.

"Do you think I'm a virgin?" she asked out of the blue. He stopped the razor in mid stroke and looked at her.

"What? What kind of question is that? Do I think you're a virgin? That's just something you don't ask a man when he has a razor up to this throat."

"Believe it or not, I am." Still sitting on the counter, she swung her legs back and forth.

He really did find that hard to believe. He was certain she was just bullshitting him to get a reaction. "And why are you telling me this?" After he was finished shaving and rinsing his face, he started patting his face dry with a towel.

"Just thought you'd like to know…for future reference."

"For future reference, huh?" He threw the towel down (not the one around his waist unfortunately) and hovered over Caroline with his arms placed on either side of her on the counter. He towered over her, his eyes burned into hers. She didn't realize she was holding her breath as his face came closer.

"Blaise, are you in here?" came a voice from the other side of the door. A female voice.

He closed his eyes and groaned. "Fuck!" Pushing off the counter he grabbed a bath robe and put it on.

"Who is that?" asked Caroline.

"Where are you, Blaise? Are you taking a bath?" The voice came closer.

"Answer me. Who is that?" demanded Caroline. She jumped off the counter.

He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "That…is my fiancée."


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: To answer some questions: The twins (Rosie and Robbie) are 15, Caroline is 19 and Blaise is 37. There's an 18 year difference in their ages. I know some of you think that's weird, but my aunt married a man 20 years older than she was, and they were very happily married for a long time.

You will eventually find out what house Caroline was sorted into at Hogwarts and how Luna died - but not in this chapter (sorry). Thanks, once again, for your wonderful comments. When I'm having a crappy day, they really cheer me up. :)

Disclaimer: All characters (but Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 4

"You're WHAT?! You sack of shit. You're engaged?!" Caroline slapped him hard in the face.

"Owww, shhh, be quiet. Let me get rid of her and then I'll explain everything. It's not what you think." He tried to calm her down as he started to open the door. He looked back at her and put his hand up. "Stay, Caroline. Stay."

"I'm not a bloody dog, you know." She folded her arms over her chest. "Make it fast."

Blaise left the bathroom and walked over to his fiancée. "Isabella, what are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"I decided to surprise you." Isabella Rossi was a tall, thin woman with dark brown hair pulled up in a severe bun. She wasn't an unattractive woman, but she was no beauty either. She looked much older than her thirty-five years.

Blaise rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you surprised me alright. You must be tired; let me take you to your room where you can get settled."

"I heard voices in the bathroom," she said as she started to walk toward it. Caroline was peeking through the crack in the doorway. She quickly backed away from the door.

Blaise grabbed Isabella's arm and pulled her away. "You know how I like to talk to myself."

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "No, I know of no such thing. I've never heard you talking to yourself."

"I guess there's a lot about me you don't know. I have a lot of bad habits - a lot of filthy, disgusting habits."

"I'm sure they're nothing so bad that I can't fix." She patted him on the cheek. "You shaved off your beard. You finally decided to listen to me. I knew you would eventually." He cringed when she continued to run the back of her hand up and down his face.

It was now or never. Caroline had to make a move – she couldn't just stand there and do nothing. She opened the door and in her sweetest voice said, "Blaise, honey, where did you put my lotion?"

She exited the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. Although she looked like she wasn't wearing anything under it, she still had on her shorts and tank top with the straps pushed down and tucked inside.

With eyes wide and mouth agape, Isabella stared at the pretty little witch. She was momentarily speechless.

Feeling a little snarky, Caroline walked up to Blaise, hooked her arm around his and said, "Well, Blaise, aren't you going to introduce me to your mother?" Blaise groaned and clapped his hand over his eyes.

Isabella regained her composure and said with her hands on her skinny hips, "I am his FIANCEE, Blondie. Who the hell are you?"

"Oops, sorry. My bad. I'm Caroline. I live here."

"What were you doing in my fiancé's bathroom?"

Blaise tried to cover. "It's really nothing, Isabella. Something was wrong with her shower so I told her she could use mine."

"Nice to meet you, but I really must be going." Caroline walked toward the door with a bounce in her step. Just as she was about to reach the door, Julian came out of his room and rubbed his eyes. He wore pajamas with flying brooms all over them.

"Hey, I was trying to sleep." He looked over at Caroline. "Well, hellllooooo, Angel. What are you doing here? And why are you wearing a towel?"

"Caroline was just about to leave. Go back to bed," said Blaise.

"Papa, if you're done with her, can I have her?" The little boy wiggled his eyebrows.

Caroline giggled. "Maybe next time," she said with a wink.

Isabella looked at Blaise with a death glare. "Next time? There will be no _next_ time."

Caroline just looked back at them with her sweetest smile and a little finger wave and left the suite.

*****

Julian silently followed Caroline to her suite. Isabella and Blaise argued intensely, some in English and some in Italian. They didn't notice him leaving.

He slowly opened Caroline's door and peeked inside. Caroline was cursing under her breath about what a dog Blaise was and how he almost fooled her. She loosened the towel around her body and let it drop to the floor.

Julian stepped into her suite. "Hey, you were wearing clothes under your towel," he said with disappointment. "That's not fair."

"What are you doing here, Julian? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Who can sleep with Isabella screaming like that?" he held his hands over his ears. "I've never seen her so mad. Serves that ugly bitch right."

"Julian, language," she scolded, but said it half-heartedly. "So I take it you don't like Isabella?" She put on a large fluffy robe and tied the sash.

The little boy jumped up onto Caroline's bed and sat Indian style. "I hate her. Papa hates her too."

"Then why is he marrying her?" She was becoming more confused. She sat down on the bed beside him.

"Because Great-grandmother Zabini is making him," he said with a frown. "If Papa doesn't marry her, then I'll be sent away to some dumb school. Great-grandmother said I need a more stable environment since my mum died."

"Wow, that sounds pretty extreme." Her anger at Blaise was slowly fading away.

"That's not all. It's all some sort of a business deal so when they get married their fortunes will combine and we'll all be the most richest family in Italy. That's what Great-grandmother and Isabella want. Papa could care less about the money. He just wants to make sure they don't send me away."

"I really don't think your Great-grandmother could just send you away." She found this hard to believe.

"You don't know her like I do. She's one real mean witch. Even Papa's afraid of what she might do." He yawned and lay down on her bed. "Can I sleep here tonight? I really don't want to go back there."

Caroline lifted the covers so he could crawl in. She tucked him in and placed her lion next to him. That lion gave her a lot of comfort when she was little, so she thought he could use it now.

Before he drifted to sleep, he said, "Thank you for making Papa smile today. He hasn't done that in a long time."

Caroline walked into her bathroom and toward the shower. She did her best thinking in the shower and she needed to think about what Julian had just told her.

What an awful situation to be in – being made to marry someone you don't even like. And she couldn't imagine how scared Julian must be. The poor kid just lost his mother and now he's going to get a nasty step-mother or risk being sent away.

As she was rinsing her hair, she made a decision. She was not going to let that happen to her new little friend.

*****

Blaise finally convinced Isabella that there was nothing going on between him and Caroline. It wasn't easy, but he used his charm to assure her that Caroline had a strange sense of humor and liked to do things to see what kind of reaction she could get. Against her better judgment, Isabella believed him.

After showing Isabella to her room, Blaise headed toward Caroline's suite. He didn't see her when he entered her room after knocking, but found it curious that his son was asleep in her bed. The lucky kid.

He heard the shower and thought Caroline needed a taste of her own medicine. He quietly entered the bathroom where it was really hot and the steam was making it hard to see. He cast a silencing spell around the bathroom anticipating Caroline's reaction.

Caroline turned off the water and stuck her hand out of the stall to grab something to dry off with. Her hand blindly moved around to find a towel but instead grabbed a man's arm. She screamed like something you'd hear in a horror film.

Blaise held out a towel for her. "Looking for this?"

"Oh, you…give me that." She grabbed it hastily and wrapped it around her body – but not before he got a glimpse. And he liked what he saw.

She stepped out of the shower stall with the towel wrapped tightly around her. She grabbed her robe and stepped back into the stall to put it on out of his vision – much to his disappointment.

"Caroline, I owe you an apology." He leaned against the counter and put his hands in his pockets.

"You're damn right you do." She tightened the sash on her robe and left the bathroom. "Let's go into the other room and talk."

He followed her and noticed her hips sway as she walked. _Focus, Blaise, focus._

They sat down on the sofa in front of the toasty fire. Caroline poured each of them a glass of wine and said, "Okay, talk."

Blaise cleared his throat. "First of all I want to say I'm sorry for not telling you about the engagement. Today was the first day in a long time that Julian and I could be ourselves. We were having such a good time and not thinking about all this…crap. It's very hard to get away from Isabella. Julian and I were able to 'escape' for a day before she was due to arrive. Unfortunately she came a little early."

"So it's true that your grandmother is forcing you to do this? Julian filled me in a little. He said he would be sent away if you didn't marry. Is that true?" She sat on the couch facing him with her legs tucked under her.

"Unfortunately, yes. My grandmother thinks that I'm not mature or responsible enough to raise Julian. She thinks he needs more discipline and stability. She's been on me since the day Luna died. I just can't lose my son. He's the _only_ reason I'm doing this.

"But the main reason this marriage is happening is because my grandmother and Isabella's father want to merge our two families so that our net worth would make us the wealthiest family in Italy. Our marriage would seal the deal, so to speak." Blaise took a final gulp of his wine and poured another one.

"Why can't Stefan marry her?" asked Caroline.

Blaise chucked. "He got out of it by telling Grandmother that he was gay. We haven't seen that wanker since. I can't believe you remember my cousin."

"I have an excellent memory. How do you think I got through Hogwarts without studying? So anyway, why don't you and Julian just run away?"

"We've tried…twice. We're watched constantly, so they found us within 24 hours. I'm pretty much stuck. Grandmother even gave Isabella an engagement ring that's bewitched so that I can't break the engagement. Only Isabella can call off the wedding – if she takes the ring off her finger. And there's no chance in hell that she'll give up all the power and money."

"Wait a minute. I thought you gave me your grandmother's engagement ring when I was little. I still have it."

"My grandmother has been married five times, so she has a couple of rings to spare," he laughed quietly. "Don't let Isabella know that you have that ring. I told them I lost it." He picked up a piece of her hair and absentmindedly wrapped it around his finger. "If they found out you have that ring they would stop at nothing to get it back. I don't know why. There must be something special about that ring."

"It doesn't look special. I mean it's pretty and all, but nothing has happened whenever I wear it on my right hand."

"Good, just keep it hidden. And stay clear of Isabella. She's not someone you want to cross." He picked up her hand and started to rub the back of it with his thumb. She felt a tingle go up her arm.

"I'm not afraid of Isabella," she said defiantly. "Isabella should be afraid of me. When I'm though with her…"

"No, Caroline. I don't want you to get involved. I promised your dad that I would keep you out of trouble. Promise me you'll behave and stay out of it."

"I promise." She smiled and crossed her fingers behind her back. Blaise reached around her and grabbed her hand.

"No crossing fingers, you little cheater." He let go of her hand and started to rub her back. His hand travelled up her back to her neck. He started to pull her toward him, his eyes never leaving hers. As they came closer together, she closed her eyes. She felt dizzy and couldn't believe he was going to kiss her. She shivered when his lips barely brushed against hers.

"Papa and Caroline sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Julian sang. He was standing at the door.

"Well not anymore," laughed Blaise. "Thanks a lot, pal." Julian ran into the room and jumped on his father's lap. Caroline's face turned a pretty shade of pink.

Blaise stood up and held Julian on his hip. "You, little monkey, need to be in bed." They headed toward the door.

As they left the suite, Julian said, "Caroline let me sleep in her bed. It's nice and soft. You should try it sometime."

Blaise turned around and gave Caroline a wink. "I plan to."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Do you ever get the feeling that whatever you do, you can't catch up? I seem to be falling behind in everything...laundry, work, this story. LOL Anyway, so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I was hoping to have it done earlier, but you know how things go.

I can't tell you how much your comments mean to me. You are all way too kind. I wish I could bake chocolate chip cookies for all of you, but unfortunately I'm not a very good baker or cook. :)

Thank you to Mrs. Reid-Malfoy for offering to translate Sweet Caroline into Spanish.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

XOXOXOXO

Chapter 5

Breakfast at the Malfoy Manor was a hectic time. Everyone was always in a hurry to run to their appointments or meetings. On the weekends, however, everything slowed down and breakfast was a relaxed meal.

Rosie always arrived first at the table. Always wanting to be punctual, she arrived at her destination at least 10 minutes early. Her nose was constantly in a book. She read as much or possibly more than her mother. She rarely spoke and just listened most of the time. She thought her family consisted of a bunch of idiots and was certain she must have been adopted.

Not knowing really where to go, Isabella found the dining room. She nodded to Rosie and said, "Good Morning." Rosie peered over her book to look at Isabella, and then continued reading.

"Don't bother talking to her, she thinks you're an idiot," said Robbie as he entered the room.

"Well, I never…" said Isabella in a huff as she sat down.

"Don't take it personal. She thinks everyone is an idiot." Robbie by-passed his usual seat and sat at the head of the table where Draco usually sat. "Who are you?"

"I'm Isabella Rossi. Blaise's fiancée."

Robbie snorted. "You're marrying Blaise Zabini? Good luck with that. My father has told some pretty wild stories about that guy. Said Zabini was constantly drunk and horny. You're in for a crazy ride, lady."

Isabella's eyes widened. "Well, I assure you he isn't like that anymore. That was all in his past."

"Yeah, whatever. Hey, Rose, pass the salt." Without looking up from her book, Rosie picked up the salt shaker and threw at her brother. He caught it with ease. Isabella huffed again at their crude table manners.

Next Caroline entered the room. To say that Caroline Malfoy was not a morning person was an understatement. She slowly shuffled into the room wearing a short silk nightie and a matching robe which she didn't bother to tie. Her hair was a wild mess with a good chunk of it hiding her face. She plopped down in her seat and reached for the coffee.

"Well, good morning, sis," Robbie greeted cheerfully. He knew that would aggravate her.

With her eyes still half closed she flipped him the bird.

"Aw, I'm #1? I'm so honored."

"Fuck off," growled Caroline.

Isabella huffed again. She was eating with a bunch of savages.

Finally, Blaise and Julian walked into the room. Julian was laughing and smiling until he saw Isabella. His happiness switch turned off abruptly. Julian sat next to Caroline, and Blaise sat opposite of her. Blaise was about to say 'Good Morning' to Caroline but Robbie shook his head. "Don't even think about it until she's had her second cup of coffee."

"Good to know," said Blaise. So this is what she looks like in the morning, he thought. No make-up, hair a mess, grumpy as hell. He thought she was beautiful.

Caroline was on her second cup of coffee and started to come alive. She looked over at Julian and noticed he was sulking. "What's wrong? Don't you like your breakfast?" The little boy shook his head.

With a wave of her wand, she changed the plate of eggs and bacon to a plate of hot pancakes with strawberries and cream.

"Better?" she asked. Julian nodded and smiled at her. He began to dig in starting with one of the big juicy strawberries.

Isabella scowled. "You should not indulge the boy. He needs to eat what he is given or else he will become spoiled."

"Well as least he's eating," said Blaise. "Julian can be a picky eater. Thanks, Caroline" he said with a wink.

Caroline turned and looked over at Robbie. "What's on your agenda today?"

"Oh, you know the usual. Places to go, people to meet, worlds to conquer."

"In other words you have nothing planned."

"Yep, that's about the size of it," Robbie admitted.

"Maybe you could take Julian to the pool."

"Pool?" asked Julian. "But it's winter outside. We'll freeze to death."

"It's an indoor pool, silly," explained Caroline. "The room can change to any type of weather you want. It has palm trees and a waterfall. You'll love it."

"Can I go, Papa? Please, please, please?" begged the little one with his hands clasped.

"Absolutely not," said Isabella. "The boy…"

"Excuse me, Isa_bella_," said Blaise in an ice cold tone. "For one thing, his name is Julian, not boy. And another thing, you have no say whatsoever when it comes to him. This marriage is just a business arrangement only. You have no parental authority."

Isabella turned the page of _The_ _Daily Prophet_ she was reading. "We'll see about that," she muttered.

Robbie got up from his seat. "Come on, kid, let's go." Julian jumped down from his seat and followed the older boy. He stopped at the doorway, turned and ran back to Caroline and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He then ran to catch up with Robbie. Rosie got up from her seat and followed as well – her nose still stuck in the book.

Caroline could tell that Blaise was still in a bad mood. She needed to cheer him up. A bright idea came to her.

The petite blonde reached over and picked out a banana from the bowl of fruit. She slowly peeled it. Isabella glanced over to see what she was doing.

After the banana was peeled, Caroline stuck out her tongue and started to lick the fruit. She moaned as she started at the base of the banana and slowly licked up its length. Blaise saw what she was doing and groaned. He had to admit that he was getting a little turned on. Then he got an idea. Two can play at this game.

With a wicked smile, he grabbed a peach from the fruit bowl and cut it in half. He removed the pit and slathered whipped cream over it. Isabella stared at Blaise uncertainly as he slowly started to lick the whipped cream off the peach and out of its center. Caroline closed her eyes and groaned. "Mmm, yeah baby," she purred. She slightly opened one eye to see what Isabella's reaction was.

Isabella's face was turning red and she slammed her palm on the table a couple of times. "You two stop that this instant!"

Blaise took one last long lick and looked over at Caroline as she brought the banana back up to her lips. She swirled her tongue around the tip and then slowly pushed the end of the banana into her mouth. Isabella's eyes got wide as the banana disappeared down Caroline's throat.

Blaise started clapping. "Wow, I'm impressed."

Isabella grabbed her paper and got up from the table. She huffed as she left the room. "How vulgar."

After the offended witch left, Blaise and Caroline started laughing hysterically. "Did you see the look on her face? That was priceless," she said.

Blaise got up from his seat and started to leave.

"Where are you going?" asked Caroline.

"I don't know about you, but I need a cold shower."

XOXOXOXO

Wanting to keep an eye on Julian, Blaise took his work out to the pool area. Caroline wasn't kidding about the pool. For one thing, it was huge. There were palm trees and other exotic plants scattered about. The waterfall was beautiful and calming. A few pink flamingos walked about minding their own business. He wondered where the white peacocks were. Maybe Draco got rid of them.

Blaise grabbed a chair next to one of the tables and spread the parchment out. Caroline gave him a copy of the contract she signed, so put he put on his reading glasses and started to look over it to see how much deep shit she was really into.

He didn't notice that across the pool Caroline was stretched out on a chaise lounge. She wore a very small blue bikini and a pair of sunglasses. She studied him as she sunned herself under the fake sunlight. She noticed that he was wearing his reading glasses and smiled. She thought he looked hot and somewhat adorable in his tight t-shirt that showed off his biceps. He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head as he took off his glasses. He must have found something in the contract he didn't like. Oh well, whatever it was, he would be able to get her out of it.

Blaise looked up and across the pool. This was the first time he noticed Caroline. She gave him a little finger wave. He grinned back. Damn, she looked good in that bikini. He decided he studied the contract long enough, now he was going to study Caroline.

"Why don't you take a picture; it will last longer," drawled a voice behind him. Blaise turned to see Robbie take a seat opposite of him at the table. "Don't waste your time," he continued. "She's gay."

Blaise threw his head back and barked in laughter. "If she's gay, I'm the Pope."

"What's a Pope?"

"Never mind."

"So, you got the hots for my sister? Stand in line."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "I do not have the hots for your sister. I'm just admiring her…"

"Assets?" asked Robbie.

"Well you've got to admit she's easy on the eyes."

"Yeah, whatever. Now her friend, Tabitha…that's what I call hot."

"Isn't she a little too old for you?" asked Blaise.

Robbie looked at him with one eyebrow cocked. At that very moment, Blaise thought he looked just like Draco. "You should talk. Pot…meet kettle."

"Touché."

The young Malfoy reached over and grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey and poured himself a drink. He leaned back in the chair and took a swig. Blaise was sure he would choke on it, as most young people did. But Robbie surprised him when he swallowed the drink, savoring its taste.

"You're obviously a Slytherin. Not many people your age can handle a drink like that." He looked over a Julian to make sure he was still in the shallow part of the pool. "Julian, stay close to us. Don't go toward the deep end." The little boy continued to play with his plastic boats and making little motor sounds with his mouth.

"I was sorted into Slytherin and Rosie was sorted into Ravenclaw. And then there's Caroline. She was first sorted into Gryffindor. Then in about her fourth year, she was kicked out of Gryffindor and put into Slytherin."

"Wait a minute. She was kicked out of her own house? How did that happen? Or do I even want to know?" Blaise asked.

"I don't think it was any one thing. It was a combination of things. But I think the clincher was when she and another guy were caught in a compromising position in the Gryffindor common room. To this day she claims she wasn't having sex, but just snogging the bloke from Durmstrang, Vincent Krum. Nobody believed her.

"Vincent was one of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament," continued Robbie. "Mum was so pissed because she's friends with Vincent's father, Viktor. She was totally embarrassed by the whole thing. Anyway, Vincent was disqualified and Caroline was suspended for a week. That was one of the three times she was suspended. Dad had to pull some strings to make sure she wasn't kicked out for good."

XOXOXOXO

Her eyes hidden by her sunglasses, Caroline watched the two across the pool. To others, it would appear that she was asleep. However, she wasn't missing anything that was going on. She had a bad feeling in her gut that she couldn't quite place.

Robbie walked over and sat by the edge of the pool. He found a beach ball and started to toss it to Julian who was still in the pool. To Julian's delight, they tossed it back and forth a few times. With each throw, the ball travelled farther and farther and Julian had to reach to catch it. Ultimately the ball made its way down toward the deep end. Robbie didn't think anything of it, figuring the kid knew how to swim.

The last toss went over Julian's head. He reached to grab the ball, but missed. He was in the deep end and panicked when he couldn't touch the bottom. His arms wildly splashed around to stay above the water, but he started to sink anyway.

"Oh shit," said Robbie. Blaise looked over to see what was going on. He bolted out of his chair and started to run toward the deep end of the pool.

But Caroline was faster. She ripped off her sunglasses and dived into the deep water. She swam down toward Julian and grabbed the little boy just as he was about to touch the bottom. As soon as she had him in her arms, she pushed off the bottom of the pool to reach the surface.

Julian gasped for air as soon as they were above water. Coughing and crying, he clung onto Caroline for dear life. "Don't let go. Don't let go."

Caroline tried to sooth him by gently patting him on the back as she carried him toward the shallow end and out of the pool. "Shhh, it's okay. It's okay. You're going to be alright now." Blaise was waiting for them with a large towel stretched out. He wrapped the towel around his son and led them back to her chair.

Caroline leaned back in the chaise still holding on to Julian wrapped in the towel. He wasn't crying as much, but he was still shaken and scared. His arms were still wrapped around Caroline's neck.

"You saved my life," coughed Julian. "You really are my angel." Caroline hugged him tighter and kissed the top of his head.

Blaise leaned over and gave her a small, sweet peck on the lips. "You're my angel too."


	7. The real Chapter 6

A/N: This is the real chapter 6. Somehow I messed up when I posted the last chapter and it said Chapter 6 when it was actually chapter 5. I couldn't go back change it. No little Julian in this one (sorry). You are all so wonderful for taking the time to read and comment. Hugs to you! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 6

It's a well known fact that little boys like to look up girl's skirts whenever given the chance. Most boys eventually grow out of it. Not Blaise Zabini. Even in his thirties, he enjoyed a peek when the opportunity arose. Such an opportunity presented itself in the library one day as he looked for a book on undetectable poisoning potions. He was hoping to find something to slip into Isabella's tea.

The Malfoy library was already big, but when Hermione moved in, she added a massive amount of books so that the library rivaled the one at Hogwarts. Row after row after row of books filled the room bottom to top. Most of the books could only be reached by using a ladder, so there were several ladders stationed around the room. Caroline was standing on one of them.

"Does your bra match your knickers?" asked Blaise. He leaned his elbow on one of the rungs and looked up. He had a nice view of Caroline's lacy panties.

"That's for me to know… Now quit looking up my skirt, you perv."

"Well, if you're dumb enough to wear a skirt when you're on a ladder, I'm going to take advantage of it."

"Just go away," said Caroline looking down. She reached up to grab a book that was wedged in tight. She pulled the book hard to loosen it which caused the ladder to wobble. She tried to correct herself grabbing at the shelf nearest her, but she lost her balance anyway. Blaise was at the bottom trying to hold it still, but the ladder was too tall and he couldn't hang on.

Caroline desperately tried to find something to grab as the ladder fell away. She was able to hold on to an open space on one of the highest shelves. Her feet were dangling high above Blaise's head.

"Well, that's a fine pickle you've gotten yourself into," said Blaise looking up with his arms crossed.

"Shut up and get the ladder, my arms are starting to hurt." She wasn't sure how long she could hold on. Her feet were trying to find a shelf to rest on, but she was at an odd position and her feet didn't reach anything.

"What are you doing up there anyway?"

"Looking for a book, what else? Now get the ladder."

"What kind of book?"

"Can we discuss this when I get down? Get the fucking ladder, Blaise."

"Hmm, I don't think I like your tone, young lady." He wasn't actually going to let her dangle there very much longer. He was just having a little fun.

"Fu…" She was about to say 'fuck you,' but lost her grip on the shelf. With arms and legs flailing about she fell down, down, down screaming all the way. Several books came down with her. It all happened so fast, Blaise didn't have time to try to catch her or get out of the way. So she landed right on top of him as he fell back and hit the floor. He knew he would have to see a chiropractor after this.

"Oof," said Caroline as she landed on Blaise's hard body. She got the wind knocked out of her a little.

"If you wanted to be on top, you should have just asked." His arms wrapped around her waist as she tried to get off of him. He loved the feel of her cashmere sweater and could have held her there all day. He also loved the feel of her soft body on top of his.

"Well, you know I like to be in control," she smirked and again tried to get up, but Blaise wouldn't let her. He flipped her over so that he was now on top. He grabbed her wrists and held them above her head. Her chest heaved as she was still trying to catch her breath. Was she out of breath because of the fall, or because Blaise was on top of her? No matter, it was turning him on.

There was a little bump on Caroline's forehead caused from the fall. Blaise lowered his head close to hers and kissed it gently. He then proceeded to place light kisses down her temple to her ear. Caroline let out a gasp when he started to nibble on her ear. Her heart was beating wildly and chest was still heaving – and definitely not because of the fall.

Caroline giggled when he kissed down her neck to her pulse point. He stopped kissing and looked at her, his brown eyes sparkling.

"That's not the response I was hoping for," he said with a smile.

"Sorry, I'm just tickl…" Before she could finish her sentence, Blaise placed his lips on hers and kissed softly. She moaned as he slowly intensified the kiss. As she started melting into him, he let go of her wrists. Immediately she ran her hands through his thick dark brown hair. Caroline felt a zing from her head to her toes. In fact, if she weren't wearing shoes, her toes would have curled.

Caroline's moaning pushed Blaise on so he threw more passion into the kiss. _Damn, he's a good kisser_, she thought as his tongue found hers. But she never had any doubt about that. She always imagined what it would feel like to kiss him. Her imagination didn't even come close.

She was getting so into it that she didn't notice the top buttons of her sweater were open and that Blaise's wandering hands were under her sweater. He gently traced the lace on her bra with his fingers. As he felt the soft flesh of her breasts, he sighed. _Bless the person who invented bras that open in the front_, he thought. With a simple snap, he unhooked her bra and slid his palm over one of her breasts. It fit his hand perfectly.

Caroline groaned at his touch and arched into him trying to get even closer if that were possible. She was turned on even more when she felt his excitement and started pull his shirt out of his trousers. She desperately wanted to feel his flesh.

The hot Italian was kissing down her neck when she made him stop suddenly. "Shhh, I hear something. Someone's coming!"

He quickly got off of her and pulled himself together. He noticed Caroline's hands were shaking as she tried to button up her sweater. He reached over and gently slapped her hands away so he could button them for her. She was still flushed. He was cool as a cucumber.

Rosie rounded the corner and saw the two of them standing there each holding an open book.

"What are you doing?" she asked eyeing them suspiciously. She wasn't used to intruders in "her" library.

Caroline tried to hide her embarrassment and couldn't look at her sister. She was still catching her breath. "Well, I thought we would do some research about Isabella's engagement ring. I've pulled most of the books on spells and jewelry. There must be something in here that would help Blaise get out of the engagement."

"I can help," Rosie offered.

"That's a great idea, Rosie," said Blaise. "We can split the books and each take a couple." Caroline couldn't believe how he could act so nonchalant as if nothing happened. She was a mess inside.

"No, I'll research them all. It will give me something to do." Rosie was usually so quiet. Caroline was amazed that her sister was talking that much.

"Well, okay. If anyone can find something in these books, you can." She and Blaise took the books and placed them on one of the tables in the center of the library.

"Thanks for doing this, Rosie," said Blaise with his hands on his hips looking down on her. "Do you need anything? Tea? Water?"

Rosie shook her head. "I _need_ you to go away."

"Alrighty then." He turned around to leave with Caroline, but she was already gone.

XXXXXXXXXX

The staff at St. Mungo's was all too happy to see Draco Malfoy leave. He was the patient from hell. So when he decided he'd had enough and wanted to leave, no one attempted to stop him. In fact, they helped him get dressed and out the door.

He and Caroline came to an understanding and patched things up. She was right…her father would always forgive his "cupcake." He was still angry at what she did, but was he was handling it better now with the help of Hermione. Her job was to keep him calm so that he wouldn't have another "incident" with his heart. The healers had warned him that he was a ticking time bomb, but he wouldn't listen to their advice in the past. The pictures of Caroline in the magazine were the match that lit the fuse.

But Draco was anxious to get back to normal, whatever that was. He sat at his desk looking over the piles of mail that had come while he was away. He started to sort through the letters when Blaise came in the room with a grin on his face and plopped down on the chair opposite Draco. He leaned back and threw his feet on the desk. Draco promptly pushed his feet off like he had a million times before.

"What are you so happy about? Did you get laid last night?" asked Draco as he opened an envelope.

"Nope. Let's just say that someone has come into my life that makes me very happy."

"Let me guess. Brainless, blond hair and big tits."

Blaise just shrugged. "I wouldn't call her brainless."

"You're so predictable," chuckled Draco shaking his head. "You sure haven't changed in all these years."

"This one is different."

"Why? Is she better in the sack than most of the sluts you used to bring home?"

"I wouldn't know. We haven't slept together yet," said Blaise.

Draco looked up from his mail. "What do you mean you haven't slept together yet? Do you have a fever? Are you sick? Maybe I should check you into the psyche ward at St. Mungo's."

"This one is special. I think I might even be falling in love."

"Alert the media." Draco snickered. "No, seriously, I'm happy for you. It's about time you found someone to take your mind off of this sham of a marriage. Are you going to dare bring her to your engagement party?"

"Oh, she'll be there. I'm sure she wouldn't miss it for the world."

At that moment, Caroline bounced into the room. She looked over at Blaise and blushed. He winked back at the curvy blond witch. Then she sat down on Draco's lap and put her arms around his neck. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"So what are you two conspiring about this time?" she asked.

"Blaise was just telling me…"

"Oh, it's nothing special," interrupted Blaise. "You know, just this and that."

Draco gave him a curious look but played along. "Yeah, we were just discussing how most of these letters are for you. You have quite a fan club since the magazine came out. This is the main reason I didn't want you to do it. There are a lot of whacko's out there."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh, Daddy, they're just harmless letters. Like this one for instance," She got up from his lap and picked up a random envelope and opened it.

"Roses are red,  
Thorns can be thick.  
You'd make me happy  
If you'd suck my … "

"Eww, eww, eww." Caroline tossed that letter into the fireplace.

"See what did I tell you?" asked Draco. "Whackos and perverts."

Blaise started laughing and picked up another envelope. In it was a letter with a photograph. He made a face. "This one has a picture of his johnson. I must say I'm not impressed."

"Ooh, let me see." Caroline tried to grab the picture but Blaise held it out of her reach.

"Now who's the pervert?" laughed Blaise.

"You're probably just jealous because it's bigger than yours," she teased.

Blaise promptly stood up and started to undo his belt buckle. "Well, let's compare."

"Blaise, knock it off. Caroline, don't encourage him and just open your mail." He shoved another pile toward her.

Caroline took another large envelope and opened it. She paled when she saw its contents. It contained photos of her in various stages of undress. In the last two pictures, she was completely nude. You could tell they were taken without her knowledge. Quickly she left the room with the envelope close to her chest. Draco didn't really notice but Blaise did. He followed her out into the hallway. As she tried to climb the stairs to go to her room, Blaise caught her arm and turned her around.

"Obviously something in that envelope upset you. What is it?"

"Let me go, Blaise. This is none of your business."

"Hmm, my guess is that they are the photos Andrew was talking about that you would rather not have your father see. Am I close?"

"Spot on, actually," said Caroline as she lowered her eyes. She felt humiliated and would rather die than have her dad see those photos. "He would be devastated if he saw these pictures."

"How did Andrew take them?"

"From the angle in the pictures, it looks like they were taken in my bedroom by a hidden camera on top of my wardrobe."

"I'm not even going to ask what he was doing in your bedroom."

Blaise took two steps at a time up the stairs and stormed into Caroline's room with her close on his heels. He quickly went over to the wardrobe and felt around on top. There were two small cameras – one on each end. Blaise grabbed the cameras and ripped them from the wardrobe. With the small cameras in hand, he headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" She nervously bit her lower lip.

"Let's just say, Andrew and I are going to have a little chit chat."

"You aren't going to hurt him, are you?"

"Yes, the odds of him suffering from intense pain are quite good."

She smirked. "Good. That mother fucker deserves everything he gets."

"I love it when you talk dirty. Save some of that for later." He quickly kissed her and left the room.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: This story isn't going to be as long (I don't think) as the other one. Thanks for sticking with it- even if I'm not as fast at posting as I would like.

Someone commented about my use of verbs. I'm not a grammar expert by any means and there are boo boos in the story (that I need to change, but too lazy to do so). But In case you're wondering about "dived" vs. "dove" from a couple of chapters back, if you check the dictionary, the word "dived" is also the past tense of "dive" along with "dove." Both are acceptable. Anywho...on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

XXXXXXXX

Chapter 7

Christmastime is a happy time for most people. The Malfoys were no exception. Ever since Caroline could remember, her mother was always in the kitchen baking the Muggle way during the holidays. When Hermione and Draco first got married, he couldn't understand why she would want to cook and bake herself when she could use magic. But after tasting her creations, he understood. She was a hell of a good cook. And she loved doing it.

And so, as usual, Hermione was in the kitchen when Caroline came home from shopping. She was in a very good mood. Retail therapy did that to her. Julian stood on a little step stool next to Hermione, his hands covered with dough up to his wrists.

Julian turned around and gave Caroline a big grin. "Look at me! I'm helping Auntie Mione bake cookies!" Sure enough there were trays and trays of gingerbread men (and women) sitting around the kitchen waiting to cool.

Caroline dropped her bags and picked up one of the cookies, ready to bite off the head.

"No, no, no! You can't eat them yet. They haven't been decorated," said Julian. Caroline scowled and reluctantly put the cookie back.

Hermione was whipping up another batch of dough when she said, "Did you hear about Andrew Nott?"

"No, what about him?" Caroline stuck her finger in the dough, scooped up a big blob and licked it off her finger.

"The poor guy is in St. Mungo's. Evidently he was in Muggle London last night and was hit by a bus!" said Hermione.

"You don't say? It was a miracle he wasn't killed." _And a shame too_, she thought.

"You're not kidding. He was pretty banged up. Broken ribs, lacerations on his face, bruises all over. They're probably going to do surgery on his nose to fix it. Even magic won't help."

"You don't say? How horrible."

"That's why you should go to visit him. He needs cheering up."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that, Mum." Caroline rolled her eyes behind her mother's back.

Blaise strode in to the kitchen with his nose in the air. "What is that delicious smell? I think I just walked into a bakery."

"Me and Auntie Mione are making cookieeeeeeees!"squealed Julian. "And later we're going to decorate the Christmas tree!" He did a little happy dance on the stool. Hermione looked down at him and laughed. It had been a long time since anyone in the manor was so excited about Christmas. She didn't realize how much she missed little ones around the holidays.

"You don't say?" Blaise reached down to pick up a cookie. Caroline slapped his hand away.

"Don't you know anything? You can't eat them until they're decorated." She smirked up at him. "Oh, and by the way, did you hear the latest about Andrew?"

"No, what about him?" He stuck his finger in the batter.

"He was hit by a bus last night! He's in St. Mungo's now." She grinned up at him and stopped his hand moving up toward his mouth. She took his finger with the batter and stuck it in her own mouth - licking all the batter off.

"You don't say?" His eyes rolled back and he silently moaned. He thought his finger in her mouth was so erotic that if Hermione and his son weren't there, he'd have all Caroline's clothes off and ravish her right there on the counter.

"Wow that must have hurt." He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Meet me upstairs."

Caroline nodded and picked up her bags. "I need to put my things away," she announced. "Let me know when the cookies are ready, Julian."

"Okie dokie," said the little baker.

"Yeah, I need to go too. I have some calls to make," said Blaise.

XXXXXXXX

Caroline undressed (behind closed doors and to Blaise's disappointment) and put on a silk robe because it was more comfortable, and she was going to take a shower later. Going through each bag she put some of the things away in her closet. On one side of the closet she had a dresser filled with lingerie. Each drawer contained matching sets of bras and panties. Going out in public with your undergarments not matching was a cardinal sin according to Caroline.

But what was puzzling her, was that some of her bras, knickers, camisoles and other things were slowly disappearing. It seemed like each week she was buying new ones. She couldn't figure it out. Surely Rosie wouldn't be interested in her things.

Blaise walked up to the closet and leaned against the door frame with his arms folded. For some odd reason, he was amused by her fussing about her missing lingerie.

"Do you need help with something?" asked Blaise.

"Yeah, you can help me find the vermin that's stealing my underwear."

"It's simple enough to find out. Just use one of those little cameras Andrew had and you can catch the culprit on tape."

"Speaking of Andrew, I thought you'd use magic to rough him up."

"When I lived in America, I learned how to box. I was just practicing my skills. Plus, it was fun to beat the snot out of the little bastard."

Caroline snorted. "I don't think anything is wrong with your skills. What other skills do you have?" She gave him a sly smile as she walked out of the closet.

He followed her mesmerized by the way her silk robe moved with her hips. "I'd be happy to demonstrate all my skills to you, darlin'. But first I want to ask you about something…"

"Go on."

"Before Andrew lost consciousness," Blaise smiled as if thinking about a fond memory. "He had some very interesting tidbits to share." He slowly walked toward Caroline as she put her newly purchased makeup on her vanity.

"Oh?" Her back was toward him but she could feel him getting closer.

"Yes…Not only were there photos of you in all your glory – which I destroyed, by the way..." (Except one copy of each for his own personal collection, but she didn't need to know that.) He stood right behind her and whispered in her ear. "There was video as well."

Blaise could see Caroline's already ivory face pale in the vanity's mirror. It was one of shock and disbelief and possibly guilt. He held up a DVD and spun it around his finger so that she could see it in the reflection. She lowered her head and sighed. She knew someone probably had a sex tape of her. She just prayed it wouldn't get on the internet.

Blaise wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. He looked at both of them in the mirror. Honestly they made a great looking couple. His tan skin and dark hair complimented Caroline's ivory skin and blonde hair. But the pale skin on her cheeks started to turn pink.

"Did you watch it?" She asked dejectedly.

"I thought it would be fun if we watched it together."

She sat down hard on the stool in front of the vanity and lowered her head in her hands. "I think I'm going to throw up."

Blaise grabbed her arm and led her toward the sofa. "Oh, come on. It will be fun. I might learn something." He threw her on the sofa and popped the disc into the player.

"No really. I'm sure it's not worth watching," said Caroline as she tried to grab the disc. She was in a panic. Who was the guy with her? Would it be Andrew or Vincent? She couldn't remember being recorded with either of them. But then again, when she was with either of them, she wasn't exactly coherent either.

"You're so photogenic that I'm sure this will be good." He turned on the television and leaned back on the sofa with her clutched in his arms. She was desperately trying to escape, but with his iron grip holding her, there was no way.

"Please, Blaise, don't do this." There were tears forming in her eyes and she lowered her head. When the player came on, there was a pretty blonde with a dark haired guy…singing.

_You're the one that I want  
(you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey  
The one that I want (you are the one I want),  
ooh ooh ooh, honey  
The one that I want (you are the one I want),  
ooh ooh ooh, honey  
The one I need (the one I need),  
oh yes indeed (yes indeed)_

Caroline's head bolted up. "What the fuck?"

Tears streamed down Blaise's face for a different reason. He was laughing hysterically.

"_Grease_? You led me to believe it was a sex movie, and it was _Grease _all along?" Her voice kept getting higher and louder.

"Aw man, you should have seen the look on your face…" But before he realized it, the very pissed off witch struck him across the face with an open palm.

"You cock-sucking son-of-a-bitch." She continued slapping him while his arms were up trying to defend himself. He was still laughing. "You deliberately wanted to torment me. How could you?"

Blaise stopped laughing and tried to sit up. "I just wanted to see what your reaction would be, and honey, you didn't disappoint."

"That was so uncool, Blaise. I about had a heart attack."

"I'm sorry." Blaise looked at her seriously. "But based on your reaction that there really _could_ have been a sex tape proved one thing to me."

"What's that?"

"You're a liar."

"Pardon?" She was confused.

"You told me you were a virgin. I knew you were bullshitting me."

Caroline stood up and wedged between Blaise's thighs. She slowly opened her robe to reveal a very lacy and very sexy bra with a matching thong. She grabbed one of his hands and placed it on her bum. The other one she placed on one of her breasts. He was in shock, but very pleasantly so.

In a very low voice and barely above a whisper, she said, "Do you honestly believe with a body like this, I'd still be a virgin?"

Blaise's dark eyes drank in her body. Many blonde busty women had come and gone in his lifetime, but he felt nothing for them other than using them for a quick shag. This was different. He was in heaven and wanted to know what he did to deserve a creature as beautiful and curvy as this witch before him. Not only was he feeling his pants swell, but his heart was swelling as well.

The very horny Italian grabbed her by the hips and pulled her toward him. He leaned forward and lightly kissed her flat stomach. Caroline's knees about gave out on her. Slowly kissing up her body, lingering at her breasts, he gradually stood. Caroline's wild curly hair covered part of her face so he moved the hair back, weaving his fingers through it. Caroline closed her eyes, smiled and leaned into his hand.

"Mmm, do you want to touch me?" she purred.

"Yes."

"Do you want to kiss me?"

He would definitely like to kiss those soft pink lips again. "Yes."

"Do you want to have wild sex with me?"

"No."

Her blue-gray eyes snapped open and stared straight into his deep brown ones. "No?"

"No." He touched his forehead to hers. "I don't want to fuck, shag, screw or have wild sex with you." He whispered in her ear. "I want to make love to you."

Just the way he said those few words sent little shock waves through her body with the majority of them between her legs. She reached up and pressed her lips to his and proceeded to give him a long languid kiss. If she could stop time, she would have – just to have him hold her and kiss her longer.

Much to Caroline's disappointment, he broke off the kiss. "Caroline, I don't want a quick romp in the hay. I want to spend a few _days_ in bed with you, not just a few minutes. Be patient. Let's get this Isabella issue behind us. We'll know when the time is right."

Caroline smirked. "You do know that patience is not in my vocabulary." She pulled him close again and started to kiss him. He pulled back again.

"I'm leaving now. Otherwise I'll never leave this room."

She kept pecking him on the lips. "That's the point," she teased.

"Goodbye, Caroline. Now go take your shower," he said as he left the room. It took all his strength to walk out that door and not go with her to the shower.

"It will be a cold one, I promise you," she frowned.

XXXXXXXX

Outside the door Blaise leaned back against the hallway wall and closed his eyes. Was he out of his mind? On the other side of the door was a beautiful woman willing to have sex with him right then and there. And he turned her down. What was wrong with him? He felt like he was going to throw up. He had that feeling before and it could only mean one thing. Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew he was falling in love.

XXXXXXXX

Caroline walked into her bathroom as if she were walking on a cloud. Her heart felt like it was going to burst at any moment. The possibility of being in love scared her. She knew what kind of man Blaise was – a womanizer, a player, a heartbreaker. There was no way he would return her feelings so she needed to keep her guard up. He said he wanted to make love to her, but she knew that he was just trying to seduce her and probably said that to many other women.

True to her word, she took a cold shower. It wasn't really a cold one; she was too wimpy for that. She left the bathroom towel-drying her hair and walked toward her closet. As she got closer, she heard movement within. She thought maybe Blaise changed his mind and was hiding in the closet – ready to pounce on her. She wished.

She opened the door and stood there with her mouth open and eyes wide. She was frozen in shock. Standing before her was the underwear thief – with an armful of various pieces of her lingerie (and looking like a deer caught in the headlights).

"What the fuck? _You've_ been the one stealing my things?"


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: It was fun to read your theories regarding the underwear thief. A few of you were right on the money. I was hoping to post this earlier in the weekend, but stupid life got in the way. LOL Hope you all had a good 4th (if you celebrate Independence Day).

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 8

The solitude was exquisite. Draco treasured working in his office amongst the sound of silence. He leaned back in his leather chair and closed his eyes to rest a little.

All of a sudden Caroline stormed through the doors screaming at the top of her lungs holding a bunch of her underwear. Robbie was close on her heels trying to explain. There was no way Blaise was going to miss the action so he came into the room followed by Julian playing with his truck.

A very furious Caroline threw the bras and knickers on Draco's desk. Straps were tangled everywhere. "This bastard's been stealing my lingerie." She pointed to her younger brother. Her hair was still wet from the shower and her robe barely tied.

"OK, OK, OK, I can explain." Robbie tried to calm his sister down, but she wasn't having any of it.

"What? Explain that you're a cross-dressing freak?" Caroline screamed.

"No, no, no, you don't understand. This is just a big misunderstanding. These aren't for me."

"Who are they for, your girlfriend? Oh, I forgot, you don't have a girlfriend," she said snidely. "No sane female in her right mind would go out with a pervert like you."

Julian reached up and grabbed one of the bras without anyone really paying attention. He put the leopard print bra on his head like a hat with the two cups on either side of his head and hooked it under his chin. He continued to play with his truck on the floor.

Draco had not said a word. He looked back and forth between the two trying to absorb everything. Blaise leaned against the bar in the back of the room nursing a drink enjoying every minute of it. You couldn't pay for this kind of entertainment.

Finally silence filled the room. Caroline folded her arms across her chest - waiting. Draco leaned forward and with a pencil lifted one of the bras by its strap. There was no way he was going to touch his daughter's brassiere. He looked over at Robbie.

"Explain."

Robbie fell back into one of the chairs in front of Draco's desk. "Well, um, Caroline is kind of a legend at Hogwarts. There are still stories floating around about the things she…you used to do."

"Like what?"asked Caroline.

Robbie's eyes shifted between Caroline and Draco. "Are you sure you want me to repeat them in front of Dad? I mean, they're just stories and each year they become more outrageous."

Draco held up his hand. "I don't even want to know."

"So what does this have to do with you stealing my things?"

Robbie cleared his throat. "Well, since people think you're a celebrity, I decided to cash in on it. I found out that the guys would pay a lot of money to have a piece of Caroline Malfoy. So I decided to sell some of your things."

"Why not a t-shirt, or a scarf or something like that? Why did it have to be my underwear?"

Robbie looked at her like she was daft. "Do I have to explain it to you? Guys are interested in only two things – tits and arses. And, um, you had some of the biggest you-know-whats at Hogwarts. Not that I was really noticing, mind you. What guy wouldn't want a piece of that? Am I right, Blaise?"

"Uh, I plead the fifth." They all looked at him strangely. "An American term." He walked to the desk and sat on the edge. He looked down and for the first time noticed his son wearing a bra on his head.

"Look Papa, I have a leopard hat."

"Daddy, are you going to let him get away with that?"

"Who? Blaise, Julian or Robbie?"

Caroline growled in frustration. "Robbie, of course." Blaise grabbed the "hat" off his son's head and looked at the tag with the size on it.

"You're wearing the wrong size," Blaise stated as a matter of fact.

Caroline grabbed the bra out of his hands. "I think I know what size I wear."

"Well, you really should be wearing a larger cup. You're really not getting the support you need."

"And just how do you know what size she should wear?" Draco looked at him with narrow eyes. "It better not be from personal experience."

Blaise laughed. "Draco, you know that breasts are my hobby. I've been around them long enough. I should know a thing...or two about size."

"Just as long as you stay away from hers," Draco warned.

Caroline's face was getting redder by the second. "Would you guys quit talking about my boobs? Let's get back to the discussion at hand, shall we?"

On his hands and knees, Julian still happily played with his truck around the adults' feet. He especially hung around Caroline's legs. She happened to glance down and caught him looking up her robe.

"Julian! You little pervert!"

"That's my boy," said Blaise proudly.

The little Zabini put his hand to his mouth and snickered. "You're not wearing any knickers."

"Men…You're all pigs," screamed Caroline. During the course of her ranting, her robe came undone a little more. Blaise was enjoying the view. Draco looked over and noticed Blaise ogling at his daughter.

"Caroline, calm down and fix your robe. You're giving Zabini here a free show." Draco leaned forward on his desk, clasped his hands and looked over at his son. "Rob, I can appreciate your entrepreneurial spirit. It's actually quite brilliant. However, your sister's things are off limits. Do you understand?"

"Does that include the magazines?"

"What magazines?"asked Caroline.

"_Cosmo Witch_ gave me a bunch of complimentary copies. You know, since you're my sister and all. I signed your signature on the cover by your picture and was going to sell them as autographed copies."

Blaise chuckled. "Slytherin to the core."

"You're forging my signature? I can't believe my own brother has sold me out. Un-fucking-believable."

"I'm too old for this," said Draco. "I'm going upstairs and lie down." He put his hand over his heart and started walking toward the door.

"You okay, mate?" asked his best friend with concern.

"Yeah, yeah. I just need to rest. St. Mungo's is looking really good right now."

"I've had enough of this bullshit. Robbie, if I merely sense that you're in my room going through my stuff, I'm going to hex your balls off. That is if I can find them. I'm going upstairs and get ready for the party," said Caroline.

"What party?" asked Blaise.

"You know, Tabitha's parents' annual Christmas party. Everyone who's anyone is there." She turned and left the room.

"Blaise, you go with her," said Draco.

"What?"

"And take Isabella with you, too. She can meet some of the people that will be coming to your engagement party."

"No fucking way," said Blaise.

"Yes fucking way. You never know, she might meet some rich bloke to take her off your hands, and you could hook up with that little blonde of yours."

"What time is the party again?"

XXXXXXXX

Draco walked into the bedroom and noticed Hermione lying on the sofa in front of the fireplace reading a book.

"Why aren't you getting ready for the party?"

Without looking up from her book she said, "Because I'm not going. I'm going to stay here with you."

"Just because I don't feel like going doesn't mean you have to stay here as well."

She looked up from her book. "You're up to something. There is no way you'd want me go to a party by myself."

Draco shrugged. "I'm not up to anything. I just thought you'd like to get out of the house for a bit. That's all." He sat down beside her on the sofa.

"I still don't believe you. You have that look on your face. Spill."

He sighed. "Okay, I do have an ulterior motive. Culpepper is going to be there with his wife…"

"And you want me to suck up to him so he'll reconsider your offer."

"No, I don't want you to suck up to him. Just be your charming delightful self and invite them to dinner. Then Blaise and I'll do the sucking up. Wait, that just doesn't sound right."

Hermione hedged for a moment. "Okay, but you owe me. Big."

"And I need you to do one more thing…"

"And that would be?" asked Hermione.

"Blaise is very tight-lipped about the woman he's seeing, which is unusual for him. I want you to find out who she is. "

"Isn't that his business?"

"Yes, but there is something odd going on. He claims he hasn't slept with her yet. And when I try to get more information out of him, he changes the subject."

"Maybe this girl is special and he doesn't want to jinx anything. Or maybe he can't because of the engagement curse on Isabella's ring," reasoned Hermione.

"Bullshit. Something's going on. I can feel it."

"I think you have too much time on your hands and have nothing better to think about than Blaise's love life. Why don't you think about your own love life?"

Hermione dropped her book and leaned over toward Draco and straddled his lap. With a sparkle in her eyes, she slowly unbuttoned his shirt and removed it. Since she didn't have any buttons on her shirt, Draco just ripped it over her head and threw it on the floor.

He looked lustfully at her body. "Why are you still the most gorgeous witch in the world?"

"I think your eyesight is failing," laughed Hermione.

"Nope," said Draco, "that's one of the only two things that still work."

"What's the other thing?"

Draco wiggled his eyebrows and said, "Why don't I show you?" He pushed her off his lap and onto the floor. He got down on the floor on top of her and started to kiss her neck. She squealed when he kissed her at her most ticklish spot. But that squeal quickly turned into a moan as Draco captured her lips with his.

As they were getting hot and heavy, the door burst open and in ran Julian.

"Auntie Mione, Auntie Mione…"

He saw Draco and Hermione on the floor, gasped and slapped his palms over his eyes. "Sorry." He turned around quickly and ran toward the door with his hands still over his eyes. Since his eyes were covered, he ran into the door frame and fell back on his rump. He scurried up on his feet and ran out the door.

Hermione laughed and put her shirt back on. Even Draco gave half a smile at the little Zabini.

"It looks like that we're going to have to go back to using the cottage if we want any privacy," said Draco.

"I tell you what. I'll meet you there after the party. We can have our own little secret rendezvous." She purred as she nibbled the bottom of his ear.

"Well, on that note, you'd better get ready for the party," he said huskily. "The sooner you go, the sooner you'll come back, and the sooner we can get busy."

XXXXXXXX

Isabella was very excited. She was attending her first social event as Blaise Zabini's fiancée. She was very eager to meet some of the other people in higher social standing. Each day she was getting closer to her goal.

The dress she was going to wear had to be perfect. When she went shopping she couldn't decide between two very expensive gowns, so she bought them both. She would decide later which one to wear.

Blaise stood before a full-length mirror straightening his bow tie. He looked very suave in his new dress robes. Isabella came into his room without knocking.

"Which one of these gowns should I wear? The green one or the red one?" She held up the two garments for Blaise to look at.

Blaise looked between the two and pointed to the red gown. "The green one."

"What are you talking about, this dress is red. What? Are you colorblind?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. I can't see greens or reds very well." Blaise continued to fuss with his tie. "That's why I really don't care for Christmas much…too much red and green.

"Well that explains a lot," she mumbled. She filed that little factoid in the back of her brain. One never knew when it could come in handy.

After putting on both gowns numerous times, she finally settled on the red one. It was very pretty, but a little old for her age. She wanted to dress conservatively to make a good impression.

When they were finally ready, they walked down to Caroline's suite to see if she was all set to go to the party. After Blaise knocked on her door, she answered it, still in her robe.

"Why aren't you dressed?"

"Because I can't decide what to wear." She held up three dresses – a red one, a green one and a blue one. She eyed Isabella's red gown and tossed the red one aside. There was no way she was going to wear the same color as that bitch. "Now it's down to green or blue. The green one is so last season."

Blaise closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just wear the fucking blue one then."

"Well, the blue one doesn't really fit..."

"Isabella, will you please wait downstairs for me? I need a word with Caroline." Isabella turned in a huff and went downstairs.

Blaise stepped into Caroline's suite and slammed the door behind him. He grabbed her by the arms and threw her up against the wall.

"Do you know how much you drive me crazy?" he hissed. "When we were in your dad's office, it took all my willpower not to throw you on his desk and take you right there."

"Do you know how hot you look when you're angry?" She twisted out of Blaise's grasp and wove her hands through his hair. Pulling him toward her, she kissed him long and hard. He broke away from her.

"I'm not kidding, Caroline. If your father get's a whiff that I'm slightly interested in you, best friend or not, he will kill me. I think he already might suspect something."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about. You're being paranoid."

"No, Caroline. I'm serious. We need to cool it for a while. So no more running around in skimpy outfits, alright? And I'll do my part by…by… staying the hell away from you." He turned and walked toward the door.

"Good luck with that," she said to herself as he left the room. She looked at the blue dress and smiled. "He's not going to know what hit him."


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: If you want to see what Blaise and Caroline kind of look like, go to my profile. You can also see what Caroline's gown looks like. I found a cute little Julian, but the picture is a bit younger than the story. I hope you can open the link okay. I really appreciate the time you take to review. It means a lot to me and gets me through some crappy days. :)

Sweet Caroline is now being translated into Spanish by Lilly RM. And Look-Me-Up has offered to translate it into Irish. Thanks a bunch!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 9

Blaise and Isabella arrived at the party that was already going full swing. Isabella scowled at him for making them late. But he always arrived on Blaise-time – which was whenever he damn well felt like it.

He quickly took Isabella to a group of women and dumped her off on them. Isabella laid on the charm and made a good first impression. Too bad she wasn't really like that in real life.

Blaise looked around to find Hermione speaking with an older gentleman. They seemed to be deep in conversation, laughing occasionally. He walked over to them and Hermione introduced him to Colonel Wilber Culpepper from Tennessee.

The bearded colonel was very short, corpulent and - for lack of a better term- jolly. Every sentence was punctuated with a laugh. The southern gentleman loved telling jokes. Since he was in mixed company, he kept the jokes clean, however.

"How do you keep a blonde busy for hours?" asked the colonel.

Blaise shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. How do you keep a blonde busy for hours?"

"You write 'please turn over' on both sides of the parchment." The colonel threw back his head and laughed at his own joke. "I've got a million of 'em." Blaise could tell he was going to get along just fine with the old man.

"'Why couldn't the blonde write the number eleven?"

Blaise shook his head and shrugged.

"She didn't know what number came first." The colonel laughed and slapped Blaise on the back. Blaise smiled and thought that Caroline would probably really hate this guy. He couldn't wait to introduce them.

Hermione cut in before he could tell another joke. "We'd love to have you and your wife over for dinner this week."

"Well, that sounds like a fine idea. I'll just have to check with the missus." He caught the attention of a young leggy blonde and waved her over. She was at one of the refreshment tables in awe of the chocolate fountain.

She sashayed over to them and hooked her arm around the colonel's. She was at least a head taller than he and very pretty. She wore a skin tight black dress and stiletto heels. She took one look at Blaise and her eyes traveled up and down his body. She batted her eyelashes and licked her lips.

"This here's Darlene. She's the inspiration for most of my blonde jokes," the colonel chuckled. Darlene gave a little giggle and squeak. "Darlene, sugar, these nice folks have asked us to supper sometime this week. You'd' like that wouldn't ya?"

With a very thick southern accent she answered, "Only if he comes." She pointed one polished fake fingernail at Blaise.

"You'll be there, won't ya, boy?" It wasn't a question. "We want to keep my Darlene happy. When Darlene's happy, I'm happy."

"Uh, sure. It would be my pleasure." Blaise really didn't know what else to say so he just went along with it.

"Oooh, Willy, he even talks all fancy-like," she drawled. " I can understand what he says."

"That's cuz we're in England, sugar. They all speak American like us, just with a funny accent."

Blaise coughed and tried to stifle a laugh. Hermione bit her lip and had to turn away so she wouldn't laugh too.

"Darlene, why don't you and Mr. Zamboni here go out on the dance floor and cut a rug. I'd dance with ya, but my knee's been acting up."

Now the old Blaise would think he hit the jackpot with this little number. She had long legs, big boobs, blond hair and the IQ of a light bulb. But now this Blaise desperately tried to think of an excuse not to dance with the living inflatable doll. The only thing he could think of at the moment was, "I don't know how to dance." How lame was that?

The colonel's belly jiggled as he laughed. "Well don't you worry about a thing. Darlene here won the jitterbug championship in fourth grade. She'll show you some moves."

Blaise groaned and looked at Hermione for help. All he got was a smirk and a "get your arse out on the dance floor" shooing wave.

"Hey Darlene," yelled the colonel as they walked away, "Don't bounce those titties around too much. I'm not done payin' for 'em yet." He howled with laugher until his face turned red. Hermione wished the floor would swallow her up.

Defeated, Blaise slowly led Darlene toward the dance floor. He was truly fucked. If the band played a slow song, then he would have to actually touch her. If they played a fast song, he would have to watch those balloons bounce up and down.

In desperation, he started to cough uncontrollably. Darlene slapped him on the back trying to help. He just shook his head and said, "I think I need something to drink. Why don't we go over to the bar for a bit?"

"That sounds good to me," said Darlene. "I didn't really want to dance anyway. These shoes are killin' my dogs."

"Excuse me?"

"My dogs. You know, my feet." When they reached the bar and she got up on one of the stools and immediately took off her shoes. "I don't know who this Jimmy Choo guy is, but he sure don't know how to make good shoes." She looked up at the bartender. "I'll have whatever he's havin'."

The bartender pulled out two glasses and filled it with Ogden's Finest. "Make those a double," said Blaise.

Darlene took her glass and drank the liquid in one go. She slammed the glass down and said, "Hit me again." She noticed Blaise looking at her curiously. "Back home, our kool-aid is stronger than this stuff. Ya'll are a bunch of pussies over here when it comes to drinkin'."

Blaise raised his glass up in a toast. "Here's to pussies." Darlene started laughing which quickly turned into snorting.

"I don't see no weddin' ring on your finger. I'm surprised somebody hasn't snatched you up already."

"Actually I'm engaged," said Blaise with a frown.

"You don't look too happy about it."

Blaise shook his head. "It's complicated."

"Well that's a good reason to get stinkin' drunk. Let me buy you another drink," said Darlene.

"We're at a party. It's an open bar."

"Good, then I can buy you two drinks."

XXXXXXX

Caroline looked into the mirror for one last check before she went to the party. She smoothed down the silky fabric for the hundredth time. She loved the feel of it.

Earlier she was going to wear the skimpy blue dress, but a lot of the women at the party would be wearing skimpy dresses and she wanted to be different, so she transfigured her dress into a long gown. The royal blue gown was strapless and had a beaded sweetheart neckline. The dress was ruched all the way up the bodice and the gathered skirt flowed to the floor. The dress was very romantic and Caroline looked divine in it.

After she tamed her hair, she pulled it back and secured it with the blue sapphire barrette she had since she was a little girl. A long time ago, she had two barrettes, but somehow lost the other one.

Wearing her white hooded cloak, she decided to apparate to the party instead of going through the Floo network. But there was a problem. She thought she was apparating to the cloak room, but instead landed at the double-door entrance to the party.

The crowd around the door silenced as Caroline removed her hood and unsnapped her cloak. After recognizing her, they all talked to her at once. She recognized most of them from Hogwarts.

At the bar, Blaise looked to the other side of the room and saw the most beautiful witch in the world. Darlene noticed him staring and thought that she was probably his fiancée.

She hopped off the bar stool and picked up her shoes. Blaise was still staring at Caroline. Darlene leaned over to the man on her other side and said, "Now, that there's true love. I wish my Willy looked at me that way." She shrugged. "Well, I gotta go winky tinky. I don't think he'll notice I'm gone." The man next to her looked her up and down and offered to help her find the loo – which she gladly accepted.

Blaise smiled as he watched Caroline's friends surround her. All of a sudden a young confident wizard pushed the other people aside as he approached Caroline. He was average height and had very short brown hair and blue eyes.

"Caroline!" He opened his arms wide.

"Vincent!" Caroline flew into his arms and gave him a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up and swirled her around. He then gave her a very long kiss. They broke the kiss and she looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh my gosh, it's been a couple of years, hasn't it?" asked Caroline. "You look great!"

"Well, you look amazing as usual. I saw your pictures in _Cosmo Witch_. I bet your father wasn't too thrilled with that."

"That's the understatement of the year." She laughed.

Vincent grabbed her arm and led her to the dance floor. Luckily for him it was a slow song. He pulled her even tighter to him and whispered in her ear. "I've missed you, Caroline. I think about you all the time."

Caroline didn't know what to say because honestly she hadn't thought about him too much.

Not too far away, Blaise looked on. He didn't realize it, but his hands were balled into fists. For the first time in his life he had this feeling he never had before – jealousy. This stranger was touching his Caroline. His heart-stopping beautiful Caroline.

Vincent took her outside to the patio that led to the main garden. The patio was strung with white lights and there was a warming charm placed over the whole area. Vincent and Caroline were out there all alone. Or so they thought. Blaise followed them out there too, hiding behind a topiary.

Vincent had his arms around her waist. "Remember a couple of years ago when we were here at Tabitha's party?

"I don't remember too much about that night. I was pretty drunk."

"We made love over there." He pointed to the gazebo hidden from the lights. "How about an encore?" He started to kiss her neck.

Caroline pulled away. "Honestly Vincent, I've seen you for 20 minutes and all you want to do is screw."

"It'd be just like old times. Remember the first time we hooked up?"

"Yeah, we got caught and I got suspended and kicked out of my own house." As she moved away from him, as he was moving closer.

"And I got kicked out of the Tri-wizard Tournament. But it was worth it." He snaked his arms around her waist. "You're always worth it, Caroline."

"I recall the second time you visited I was suspended also. Andrew Nott caught us in one of classrooms and started throwing hexes at you. You started throwing hexes back and both of you ended up in the hallway. Before you knew it Slyterins and the boys from Durmstrang were taking shots at each other. I was suspended for inducing a riot."

Vincent grinned. "Good times. So how about it, Caroline? Want to relive the past?"

"Sorry, not interested." She tried to escape his grasp but he held on tight.

"Aw, come on. You've never said no to me before." He touched the top of her exposed breasts. She slapped his hands away.

"Stop that, Vincent. I'm serious."

Vincent felt a hand grip his shoulder from behind. "The lady said she wasn't interested. Are you hard of hearing?" asked Blaise.

The younger wizard turned around and looked up at Blaise. "And who the fuck are you?"

"Someone you don't want to mess with," came the response.

"Listen, old man. This is none of your business."

"Caroline is my business," said Blaise.

Vincent looked between Caroline and Blaise. "Oh, now I get it. I never pegged you for hooking up with someone from the geriatric crowd, Caroline. But whatever turns you on."

Caroline got closer to Vincent. "I was tired of little boys like you. I decided I needed a real man to satisfy me."

"As I recall you were satisfied plenty." He turned and walked toward the door.

Before he was about step through the doorway, Caroline said, "Oh, and Vincent, just so you know, I faked it every time."

Blaise turned to her. "You are so wicked. I hope I never get on your bad side."

"Let me show you my good side," she winked.

"You really look stunning tonight," he whispered. With one hand around her waist and another on the back of her neck, he pulled her to him and engaged in a kiss – a very long hard and passionate kiss.

Darlene was going outside for a smoke. But she saw the two lovebirds and decided she could wait. She went back to where her husband and Hermione were still talking.

"Where's Blaise?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, he and his fiancée are outside on the patio doin' what you folks call snoggin'."

"Did you say he was with his fiancée?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah." She giggled. "They're pretty hot and heavy too. Another couple of minutes and they'll be makin' babies."

"That's odd, because his fiancée is standing over there. She's the one with dark hair wearing the red dress." She pointed to Isabella talking with another group of women.

"Well, that ain't the one he's kissin'. The one he's kissin' is blonde and a lot prettier than her."

"Oh, ho, ho. Looks like someone's getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar," sing-songed the colonel.

"Please excuse me," said Hermione. She headed toward the patio. Maybe she could solve the mystery of the blonde woman Blaise is seeing, once and for all.

Hermione approached the double glass doors and tried to look through them to the outside. It was difficult to see anything with the glare of the glass. But on the outside Blaise saw her coming out of the corner of his eye. He quickly picked Caroline up bridal style and ran to the hidden gazebo.

Hermioine came through the glass doors and found an empty patio. She looked left and right, but didn't see anyone. "Damn."


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. We went on vacation and just got back yesterday. We went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. It was AWE-SOME. If you ever get the chance to go - do it! The butterbeer was delish. The prices were outrageous though. $10 for a butterbeer (with mug); $6 for pumpkin juice, $10 for a chocolate frog and $29 for a wand - didn't get one of those, the lines were too long. Plus I asked myself what would I do with a $29 stick. LOL The castle was way cool and worth the long lines to get in it. Anyway, thank you for your continued support for this story. Your comments really inspire me.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 10

Robbie wondered why he got stuck with Julian when his sister was supposed to watch him. She was busy doing her "research" for Caroline. He really didn't mind though. Julian was like the little brother he never had.

So that evening they played video games, popped some popcorn and watched a Bruce Lee movie. After the movie Julian said, "I wish I had moves like that. I could kick anyone's arse."

"Do you want me to teach you some moves? I used to take karate lessons. I bet I still have my old uniform somewhere."

"Really? That would be so cool."

An hour later, Julian was kicking and punching all over the place. He even karate-chopped a few of his gingerbread men. Draco was in the kitchen at the time putting together a little cheese, crackers and wine for a tryst with his wife later.

Robbie leaned against the counter. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm going to meet a beautiful young woman in the cottage later tonight."

Robbie's eyes got wide. "You're cheating on Mum?"

"No, I'm not cheating on your mum, you moron. The beautiful young woman is your mum."

Relief spread across Robbie's face. "Oh, that's good, because if you were going to cheat on Mum, I'd have to kill you."

"I'll remember that if I ever want to stray." Draco smirked. Julian reached up and tried to grab a grape. Draco lightly slapped his hand away. He looked down at the little boy as he leaned against the counter next to Robbie. The two looked very similar standing there side by side; one was just a bit taller than the other.

"Julian, do you know of any women that are hanging around your father? He says he's seeing someone but won't say who. I thought maybe you might know." Draco wasn't above using a little kid to get information. He'd bribe him if necessary.

"No one, I don't think. The only ladies I see him with are Auntie Mione, Isabella and Caroline. And Rosie, but not so much."

"No one else? Are you sure?"

The little boy shook his head. "But I wish Papa was engaged to Caroline instead of Isabella though. I hate Isabella."

"Why Caroline? I'm just curious."

Julian thought a moment. "Well, she's pretty, she smells good and she gives good hugs. And she makes my papa smile. He never smiles when he's around Isabella."

Both father and son folded their arms across their chests. "Interesting," they both said in unison.

XXXXXXX

Blaise let out a low whistle. "That was a close one." They were in the gazebo hidden away from the party. "We need to go back inside, but not together. And you still owe me a dance."

"What if my dance card is full?" asked Caroline with a sly smile. She was still a little out of breath from their close encounter.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him."Then un-fill it." He looked around the gazebo. The benches inside were a little dirty because of the winter weather. Not a very romantic place in the wintertime. "So this is where you and what's-his-name made love."

Caroline snorted. "If that's what you want to call it. It was more like wham-bam thank you ma'am. Not very smooth." She reached up and pushed a stray piece of hair away from his eyes. "Like I said…I'm tired of boys. I want a real man to rock my world," she whispered.

Blaise kissed her neck and nuzzled her ear. "You came to the right place." He kissed her once again – a slow and meaningful kiss. Caroline was getting dizzy and wanted nothing more than to get horizontal with him. Her arms were around his neck; she didn't want to let go. But at last, Blaise unhooked her arms and kissed her hands.

"We need to go inside. You go in first and I'll come in a little later," said Blaise.

With a pout, Caroline left and went inside. Blaise thought that little pout of hers was adorable. Inside Caroline saw her mother at a table talking with an older man and a younger blonde who instantly recognized Caroline.

"Hey, you're the one on the pat…"

Caroline silently shushed her. Darlene got the message and said, "No, it must have been someone else."

"This is my daughter, Caroline," said Hermione introducing her to the couple.

Darlene gave her a giggle and a little finger wave. The colonel looked Caroline up and down and said, "Such a nice looking filly you got there, Mrs. Malfoy. I just might have to trade in my old model and get a newer version." He laughed and put his arm around Darlene's shoulders.

Darlene swatted him playfully. "Oh, Willy, don't be silly." She giggled at her own joke. "She's so pretty, I'm sure she's already been spoken for." She gave Caroline a wink.

Caroline didn't know what to think of this odd couple. For some reason she was fascinated by them as they bantered with each other. He was so much older than she was, but they obviously loved each other very much. Maybe there was hope for her and Blaise.

Speaking of which, the handsome Italian walked up to their table. "Anyone want to dance? I promise not to step on any toes."

The colonel laughed, "I'd dance with ya, son, but you're really not my type." His belly shook as he laughed.

Darlene said, "Count me out."

"Because your dogs are still hurting?" asked Blaise. Caroline looked at him curiously. What the heck was he talking about?

"You got that right, sugar. They're really barkin' now."

Hermione declined as well. She was studying him to see if he was making eye contact with anyone in the room in particular.

"Well, I guess that leaves you," he said to Caroline with a smile.

"Gee, the last one picked. I feel so honored." She took his proffered hand and left with him to the dance floor. He put his hand on the small of her back as he led her through the crowd.

Fortunately, a slow song was being played. Blaise grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close as they started to dance. Caroline's blue gown stood out amongst a sea of green, red and black gowns. She made the right decision picking that dress.

She felt natural in his arms. She felt right. They blended together perfectly and looked in each other's eyes as they made their way around the floor. Others gave them room as he swirled her around with ease. Rogers and Astaire couldn't have done it any better.

At first, Hermione looked at them with disinterest. But as they danced on, she could feel something different about them. The way they looked at each other and the way he held Caroline told her that this was not just two friends dancing. These two had a connection far deeper.

As she came to the realization that Caroline could possibly be the blonde that Blaise was secretly seeing, her heart plummeted. She held out the possibility that she was wrong and it was just her imagination running wild.

That is until Darlene said, "Don't they make the most scrumptious couple? They look like they could be on the cover of a romance novel." She realized too late that she might have said something she shouldn't have.

"He's my age. He's way too old for her."

The colonel and his wife looked at Hermione. The colonel cleared his throat and chuckled, "I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a slight age difference between Darlene and myself."

Hermione's face turned a little pink. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Oh don't worry about it. We get that stuff all the time. And I know you're curious, so I'll just go ahead and tell you that there is a 33 year age difference between us."

"Yeah, Willy's got kids older than me," said Darlene. "They don't like me too much though. They think I'm a gold digger. Willy ain't got that much gold, but he does got a lot of money."

"You're such a pip," laughed the old man.

They turned their attention back to the dance floor. The music went from slow and graceful to raw and sexy. Caroline transfigured her long skirt to a short one so it would be easier to dance. Blaise took off his robes and was just left with navy trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Blaise and Caroline started moving together to the music. He grabbed her and crushed her to his body. The people left on the dance floor were the younger partygoers and were really getting into the music. The way some of them were dancing was obscene, Hermione thought. Among the dirty dancers were her daughter and her husband's best friend.

Caroline threw her arms around Blaise's neck as he grabbed her hips and started grinding into them. The pulse of the music got faster and louder. The fact the Caroline had a little too much to drink didn't help matters. She lowered one of her hands and grabbed his delicious behind. He pulled one of her legs up on his hip and ran his hand up and down her leg while still moving to the beat.

Hermione was visibly getting more upset by the second. Darlene noticed her discomfort and said, "Don't fret about it, hon. They're just having some harmless fun."

"Harmless fun? They're practically shagging on the dance floor."

"I don't know about the shagging part, but it looks like they're practically having sex. That is so hot!"

Soon Tabitha joined the couple. She held a glass of champagne as she moved to the beat. Blaise took turns between Caroline and Tabitha. A few moments later, the two girls danced on by themselves. The way they danced together was getting Blaise a little excited. For one split second he imagined a threesome, but quickly shook that out of his head. As they danced, the two girls talked amongst themselves. Blaise wondered what they were talking about. Maybe it was about a threesome. Right.

Caroline had enough. "We need to get out of here," she said to Blaise.

"Where do you want to go? Your place or mine," he said with a wicked smile.

"Someplace better. Tabitha said we could spend the night here. We could practically have the third floor to ourselves." Blaise looked over at Tabitha who gave him a wink.

"Sounds good," said Blaise. "But first I want to do something. Follow me." He grabbed Caroline's hand and led her out into the hallway and down another corridor. Blaise looked up and Caroline followed his gaze. Up above them was the biggest batch of mistletoe Caroline had ever seen.

Before she could say a word, Blaise captured her lips with his. He had one hand in her hair and the other at her waist and started kissing down her neck. "I can't wait to get you out of this dress."

"Well, you're going to be waiting a long time if I have anything to say about it, you son-of-a-bitch." Blaise felt the tip of a wand at the back of his head.

Caroline looked around him. "Mother! Put down your wand."

"I don't think so. Just give me one good reason I shouldn't blast your arse right out of here, Blaise." He turned to face her and started backing up.

"Mum, stop! Blaise isn't doing anything wrong."

"Oh, he isn't, is he?" She was still waving her wand at him as he kept backing up. "What's the matter, Blaise? Does a woman your age not excite you anymore so that you have to seduce a young woman half your age? You should be ashamed of yourself - preying on your best friend's daughter. Tsk, tsk, I don't know if I should kill you, or give Draco the honors."

"It's not like that, Hermione. If we could just sit down and talk calmly..."

"Tell me, Blaise. How many curvy blonde women have you taken to your bed and then kicked out the next morning? Hundreds? Thousands? Do you think Caroline is like one of your whores that you can just throw away like rubbish?"

"Mum, please," begged Caroline.

"I don't know where you got your information," said Blaise. "But I haven't slept with thousands, or even hundreds, of women. I've never disrespected a woman or treated her badly, that is, unless she wanted me to, of course."

"Oh, and let's not forget you're getting married in a couple of weeks," continued Hermione now with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, Blaise, let's not forget that you'll be a married man fairly soon." They all turned to see Isabella standing there with her arms folded. She had been looking for the loo when she stumbled upon their conversation.

"See what I mean, Caroline?" asked Hermione. "This isn't fun and games. This is real life you're dealing with here."

"Listen to your Mummy, little girl," Isabella said with a sneer."But to be honest with you I don't care if you screw him up until the second we get married. There is a fidelity charm in our marriage vows that states if he cheats on me just once, he's a dead man. So have at it, Blaise, because this is the last piece of ass you're going to get 'til death do us part." She turned around and left actually cackling.

Hermione shook her head. "What a bitch!"

Caroline felt a big weight on her chest - like an elephant was standing on her. She couldn't breathe. She realized that her mother was right and that she never would have Blaise for herself. She was determined she wouldn't cry as she ran down the opposite hallway. She needed to get out of there.

"Caroline, wait!" shouted Blaise. But she wouldn't turn around and kept running.

He growled in frustration and punched the wall nearest him. But not before he realized it was a stone wall. Another slew of curse words came out of his mouth. Hermione took his hand and started healing it with her wand.

"Tell me something, Blaise. Why Caroline? I know she's young and attractive, but you could have any woman you want. Any woman at all. Why her? Why put your friendship with Draco at risk?"

He swallowed hard and looked Hermione straight in the eye. "Because she's worth it, and because I love her."


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: No Blaise/Caroline action in this one, but I promise they'll be back in the next chapter. I usually make the chapters around 2500 words, but this one is a little longer. I hope you don't mind. I wasn't sure I wanted to end this chapter with a flashback, but what the heck.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

XXXXXXXX

Chapter 11

"Where are you?" asked Draco. He knocked on Hermione's head. "Anyone home?" They were in bed at the cottage. He was lying on his side, his head propped up. The sheets were all bunched up, and the candles burned low. They had just spent the last hour or so "dancing" in the sheets. But it wasn't the passion filled sex they usually had. Something was definitely on Hermione's mind.

"Sorry, I'm just feeling a little tired tonight."

He looked into her eyes. "Bullshit. Something's bothering you. What is it?" He pushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Did something happen at the party that upset you?"

"Of course not."

Draco knew it was going to take a lot to get it out of her. "Was it the Culpeppers? Did they say or do something? You don't want to invite them over for dinner. Is that it?"

"No, not at all. I found them charming. They are different, that's for sure. But they are very entertaining to say the least. Darlene, his wife, is a lot younger than he is. She is hysterical – some of the things she says are really funny. But I don't think she means to be funny, you know?

"And the colonel is a real jokester. You're going to have to learn to laugh at his jokes, no matter how terrible. Oh, and you're going to have to learn some jokes on your own to tell."

"You're joking," he said with a smirk. "I don't do jokes."

"I'm serious. The man laughs at everything. If you want a chance to seal the deal, you're going to have to lighten up around him."

Draco plopped his head back on his pillow and rolled his eyes. "Just great," he said sarcastically.

"Maybe Blaise can coach you on some jokes. He's got a great sense of humor." She rolled on her side facing him.

"Are you saying I don't have a sense of humor? I can be very funny when I want to be."

"Yeah, right. You have a very dark and twisted sense of humor. I think you need help from Blaise if you're going to pull this off."

"Fine," he said as he rolled over and lay on his side again. "I'll get together with Blaise. Happy now?" He lightly traced her collarbone and up her neck.

"Ecstatic."

Draco kissed her shoulder. "Speaking of Blaise…"

Oh, here it comes, thought Hermione. She was dreading this discussion. She'd rather have a root-canal than to have this conversation. Plus she really didn't know how she felt about Caroline and Blaise together.

"…did you happen to see him with his new conquest?"

She was going to do her best not to lie. "The only women I saw Blaise with were Isabella, Darlene, Caroline and me."

"Hmmm, you didn't see him with anyone else?" asked Draco.

"Nope." And that was the truth.

Draco lie back down and put both hands behind his head. _That's interesting_, he thought.

XXX

_Earlier…_

_He ran into Blaise on his way to the cottage. Blaise had just arrived back at the manor from the party and was mixing himself a drink. _

"_How was the party?" asked Draco._

"_It was nice, I suppose," Blaise shrugged. _

"_So what about your little blonde. Did you see her?" asked Draco._

_Blaise prayed to the gods that Hermione hadn't filled him in on Caroline. "Yeah, she was there."_

"_And…"_

"_And what?" Blaise felt very antsy at the moment. He was getting more nervous by the second._

"_And what did you two do? Did you dance, drink, go out to the gazebo and shag?" Draco asked as he wiggled his eyebrows._

"_Yes, yes, no."_

"_You're really starting to disappoint me, Zabini. By now you should have screwed her, dumped her and moved on to the next blonde. What's gotten into you?"_

"_I don't know. Like I told you before, this one's different. Special. I would die for her, Draco. And I probably will when her father finds out about us. I will definitely be number one on his feces roster."_

XXX

"Okay, let me get this straight," said Draco. He sat up and finished the wine in his glass. "You saw him with just Mrs. Culpepper, Isabella, you and Caroline. I ran into Blaise earlier and he said he got together with her tonight.

"He can't be interested in Isabella, that's a given. He just met Mrs. Culpepper, so she can't be the one. So that leaves you and Caroline. You're a brunette and would die a slow death if you ever cheated on me." He looked at her with a wicked smile. "So that leaves…" Draco threw the sheets aside and got up and put his boxers on.

"I just knew something was going on – I just knew it." He started to pace. Hermione quickly got out of bed and put on a robe. Draco's face was getting redder by the second.

"I'm going to kill him. Then I'm going to hex him. And then I'm going to kill him again." He stormed into the living room.

"Draco, calm down. Let's talk about his before you do anything rash. Please, sit down." She grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down onto one of the overstuffed chairs. He started to get up, and Hermione pushed him down again.

"Take deep breaths, deep breaths." She rubbed his temples to try to get him to calm down. "Go to your happy place."

"Fuck my happy place." He pushed her hands away and stood up.

"You leave me no choice, Draco." She withdrew her wand and shouted, "_Incarcerous_!" His body fell back into the chair and ropes appeared out of nowhere and restrained him.

"You bitch, let me go!" shouted Draco.

"Not until you calm down. You're going to end up in the hospital again. This time, you might not leave."

Draco growled and struggled against the rope. "How can you be so calm? That philanderer is molesting our daughter!"

"Okay, for one thing, I'm sure Caroline won't let him do anything she doesn't want him to."

"That son-of-a-bitch will take away her innocence," said Draco.

She raised an eyebrow. "I hate to break it to you, but she's not that innocent. I think you've had your blinders on too long. She lost her virginity about five years ago."

"Five? Five years? Why am I not told these things? You mean to tell me that she's been screwing around for five years? I'm going to kill her. And when I find out who did it to her, I'm going to kill him too. Five years. That means she would have been in her…"

_Fourth Year_

_The Halloween Ball. All the students at Hogwarts were so excited about it. The music, the dancing, the costumes. This is the night you could pretend to be something or someone else._

_Caroline, Emily and Tabitha were getting ready. Looking at herself in the mirror, Caroline was nervous. She had never worn anything that showed off her curves like the pale blue fairy costume she was wearing. She was used to wearing robes or other baggy clothes, so no one really saw what was underneath. But this costume had a low neckline and a jagged hem that came above her knees. It was a really cute costume and it fit Caroline perfectly. _

_Caroline wasn't really afraid of anything - spiders, snakes, her father. But when it came to her body she was less bold. She could thank Andrew Nott for that._

_Over the past few years, Andrew teased her relentlessly over her looks. He gave her the nickname Q-Tip because she was flat-chested, her body was straight and her white/blond curly hair reminded him of a Q-Tip. Unfortunately a lot of the other Slytherin boys followed Andrew's lead and started teasing her as well. Most of the time she tried to ignore it, but sometimes it really bothered her and she had to hold back the tears, although she would never give Andrew the satisfaction of seeing that._

_But in the past few months, Caroline started to develop. She no longer looked like a Q-tip, but she was still didn't want people to see her body. After tonight, she would get over that._

_She didn't even want to go to the ball, but Emily and Tabitha wouldn't take no for an answer. They helped her get into her costume and did her hair and makeup. Normally, Caroline didn't wear makeup and tied her hair back into a ponytail. But with a little help from her friends, she was transformed. Her makeup was simple yet brought out her features. Gone was the ponytail to reveal a head of gorgeous blond hair that framed her face with curls._

_The trio, Tabitha dressed as a Playboy bunny and Emily dressed as a cheerleader, went downstairs to the common room to meet up with Teddy, who was wearing a pirate costume, and Victoire who was dressed as a wench. They were stunned by Caroline's appearance. _

"_Wow, you look great, Caroline," said Teddy. He could barely tear his eyes off her, and Victoire was speechless. "Are we ready to rock and roll?" Everyone said yes except Caroline. The five of them left the common room and headed toward the ball. _

_When they arrived, Emily practically had to drag Caroline into the Great Hall. The hall was dark to Caroline's relief. Maybe no one would notice her. Not likely._

_They were coming up to pass a group of Slytherin boys. As they started to pass the boys, she closed her eyes, ready for the insults and jabs. But something unexpected happened instead. The boys wolf whistled and called out, "Hubba, hubba," "Marry me," "Who knew she had boobs?" They were all carrying on except Andrew. _

_Andrew, dressed as Zorro, stood in front of her, blocking her path. He folded his arms over his chest and looked up and down the length of her body. He stood there for a minute, thinking._

_All of a sudden, he grabbed Caroline by the wrist and led her (more like dragged her) to the dance floor. She tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong. Her friends started to run after her, but were quickly blocked by the other Slytherin boys._

"_Let me go, you prick," said Caroline. He found a spot on the dance floor that he liked and crushed her body up against his. He started to move with her to the slow beat._

"_Now, now, now, just a harmless dance between old friends."_

"_Old friends? We've never been friends of any sort." She struggled to get away from him, but he was too strong._

_A moment after she calmed down, Andrew said, "You look nice." _

_She looked at him like he had two heads. "Okay, now for the insult. Bring it on."_

"_No insult. You just look nice. Actually, you look better than nice. You look rather sexy."_

"_Thanks?" said Caroline. "Okay, what's the joke? Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? You hate me; and the feeling is mutual."_

"_I don't hate you. I've never hated you," he said. "It's just that teasing you is so much fun. Your buttons are easy to push; and you've got more spunk than most of these airheads."_

_She caught him looking at her breasts. Her eyes narrowed at him. "All of a sudden you want to be friends. Thanks, but no thanks." She twisted out of his grasp and headed toward the refreshment table._

_Andrew stood there with clenched fists. He intended to piss her off by grabbing her to dance. But after he felt her softness against his body, he knew he had to have more. He needed to touch her, to taste her, to own her. And someday he would._

_At the refreshment table, Caroline took a goblet of the punch, not knowing it was spiked. The first one went down smoothly. She held out the empty goblet and a guy dressed as Dracula was all too eager to refill it._

"_Go slower on this one; they're stronger than you think." He gave her a warm smile. She recognized him as one of the boys from Durmstrang visiting for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. In fact, he was their champion. __When she realized who he was, she blushed. She couldn't believe a guy such as he would be talking to someone like her. _

"_I like your costume," he said. "It looks really good on you."_

"_Um, thanks… I like yours too. That's a really nice cape."_

"_Would you like to dance?" He offered her his hand. "I'm Vincent Krum, by the way."_

"_Pleasure to meet you, Vincent. I'm Caroline Malfoy."_

_As he led her to the dance floor she got a glimpse of her best friends. Tabitha gave her the thumbs up. Caroline was a little tipsy from the two drinks and she stumbled when she got onto the dance floor. Vincent caught her and helped her get steady._

_Their bodies close together, they danced as if they knew each other a lot longer than they really did. Caroline closed her eyes as Vincent nuzzled against her neck. She loved the feel of his arms around her._

"_What do you say we go outside for some fresh air?" asked Vincent. He led her out to the courtyard and found a nearby bench. He put his cape around her to keep her warm since her costume was a little skimpy. He was thinking of other ways he could keep her warm._

_As they leaned into each other, their lips met. Vincent ran his hand through her hair and tried to bring her even closer to him. She sighed as he deepened the kiss._

_Everything was going too fast for Caroline. She just met this guy, and now they're snogging like there was no tomorrow. They kissed and "made out" for another half hour or so. After coming up for air, he touched his forehead against hers. "Is there someplace private and a little warmer that we could hang out?"_

"_We could go up to my common room. No one should be there since everyone's at the ball." She grabbed his hand and took him to the Gryffindor entrance. She said the password and led him inside. Unbeknownst to them, Andrew had followed them and was watching from down the hall._

"_Wow, this is nice," Vincent said as he looked around the room. "Really cozy." He grabbed her and starting kissing her again. Gods, she was so soft. He wished he could go up to her room and fuck her brains out, but he remembered that there are safeguards to keep boys out of the girls' dormitories. They moved in front of the large fireplace and ungracefully fell down on the couch and continued their snogging session._

_Caroline had kissed boys before, but not like this. Warmth spread all over her body, especially down south. Vincent started touching her in places that had never been touched by the opposite sex. She was still a little drunk from the punch, so she wasn't sure if her knickers were still on or not. She felt a hardness against her hip and was thrilled that she, Caroline Malfoy, was getting a guy off. Maybe this was the night she would lose her v-card. _

_The girls in her house talked about sex all the time, and now Caroline was learning what all those things were. She wondered what all the brouhaha about sex was all about and was willing to try anything once. _

_And that she did. Before she knew it, Vincent was inside her. She knew it would hurt at first, so she expected that. But what she didn't expect was that for her first time, it felt good. Really good. Now she knew what all the fuss was about and was already making arrangements to meet Vincent again._

_The couple was still horizontal, but fully clothed, when the portrait door opened and in came Neville Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor house, the head girl and head boy. When they stepped into the common room, it was obvious was took place just a few minutes before. _

_Vincent and Caroline were escorted to the Headmaster's office and were given a suspension for a week. Not only that, Vincent was now disqualified from the tournament. In all honesty, he was relieved. He was only doing this for this father. But unfortunately, his father was going to kill him._

_When they left the office, Andrew Nott was standing in the hallway with a smirk on his face. Caroline knew then, that Andrew had snitched on them. She scowled at him and turned to go to her room to pack. _

_But Andrew wasn't done yet. "Hey, Krum," he taunted loud enough so that Caroline could hear, "was the piece of ass worth getting kicked out of the tournament?"_

_Vincent turned around and gave Andrew a big I-fucked-her-and-you-didn't smile. "Yes, yes it was."_


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: You have every right to hate me. So sorry this is so late. I wrote the chapter and didn't like it so I re-wrote it. And I was out of commission for a while because my computer had a virus. But all is good now.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

XXXXXXXX

Chapter 12

Blaise looked into the mirror. He appeared to be a lot older than his 37 years. He felt older too. It had been a hell of a year and one he would not want to repeat. He was getting married, but not to the love of his life. How could things get so mixed up?

Hopelessness overwhelmed him. If not for Julian, he'd probably kill himself. But his son had gone through way more than a kid his age should have. Watching your mother die before you would mess anyone up. The nightmares stopped after a couple of months after the accident, but recently the dreams had started up again. Every time Blaise heard Julian scream, it tore his heart out.

Blaise splashed cool water over his face. He wished he could just wash away the night. But there were still unresolved issues that he didn't want to face. In less than two weeks, he would be prisoner in a loveless marriage and would have to give up Caroline forever.

He pulled on his pajama bottoms when he heard the first scream. "Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Julian sobbed in his sleep. Blaise burst into his son's room to find Julian crying uncontrollably, tears covering his face.

Caroline was on her way to the kitchen to fix a snack, when she heard the screams as she passed their suite. Without taking the time to knock, she ran into the suite and into Julian's room. Blaise sat on the bed holding his son, rocking him back and forth. Julian was awake and no longer screaming, but sobbing quietly.

"What's going on?" asked Caroline as she walked over to the bed. She stooped down level with Julian and gently stroked his face.

"His nightmares are starting up again," explained Blaise.

"Papa, can I sleep with you tonight? Please?"

"Sure thing, champ. Why don't you wash up first, okay?" Julian slid off his father's lap and slowly walked into his bathroom, an occasional hitched sob could be heard.

"Again, what's going on?" asked Caroline.

Blaise took a deep breath and started to explain. "The night Luna died she and Julian were coming home from Christmas shopping. Julian said they were singing "Jingle Bells." A deer, at least that's what he thought he saw, ran into the middle of the road and stopped. Luna swerved to miss hitting it, overcorrected and ran into a tree on the opposite side of the road. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt, and the airbags didn't inflate. Her head hit the windshield, but didn't go through it. Julian was unharmed. Luna was still alive when Julian unhooked his seatbelt and crawled over to the front seat." Blaise's voice cracked a couple of times. Caroline realized that it was difficult for him to continue, so she put her hand on his back for comfort.

_Blood saturated her blond hair. "I love you, Julian. Don't ever forget that," Luna said weakly. She was losing a lot of blood and knew she didn't have much time. It was important to tell her son that she loved him as she closed her eyes for the last time._

_Julian shook her shoulders. "Mama, wake up. Please, wake up." He started to panic and started screaming, "Wake up! WAKE UP! Mama, please!" He kept shaking her shoulders trying to get some sort of response. When the paramedics arrived, he was still screaming until he lost his voice. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"_

Tears rolled down Caroline's face. She put her arms around Blaise's shoulders and hugged him. "How awful for him to go through that. And poor Luna…" She shook her head and noticed Julian standing there looking defeated.

"Will you sleep with us, too?" Julian looked at her with those sad puppy dog eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea." In fact, she thought it a really bad idea.

"Pretty please, with sugar on top?" He stuck out his lower lip and looked up at her soulfully.

"Aw, how can I say no to that face? Let me go change." She was wearing a something a little too skimpy under her robe. Changing into flannel pajamas that covered more, she felt better, but still thought spending the night in Blaise's room was a bad idea

Julian scrambled onto the king-sized four-poster bed. The bed was so big, it swallowed him up as he got under the covers.

Blaise started to get in on one side when Caroline said, "Can't you at least put a tee-shirt on or something." She thought it would be hard to get to sleep if she's drooling on her pillow all night. The only thing he wore was the pajama bottoms he put on earlier.

"You're lucky I'm wearing the bottoms. I usually take them off and sleep nude."

"I really did not need to know that," muttered Caroline as she got in on the other side of the bed after she took off her robe. She quickly got under the covers and pulled them up to her chin.

Julian took off his pajama top and threw it on the floor. "I'm going to be like Papa," he announced.

Caroline looked over at the two Zabinis and found them looking back at her. "If you think I'm taking my top off, you are sadly mistaken." She rolled over with her back toward them as they snickered.

"Good night, Papa. I love you," said Julian as he kissed Blaise on the cheek.

"Good night, Julian. I love you," Blaise said and kissed him in return. Julian rolled over and tapped Caroline on her shoulder.

As she rolled over, Julian said, "Good night, Caroline. I love you," and kissed her on the cheek and giggled.

She was very touched that he included her. Not wanting to break their nightly ritual, Caroline said, "Good night Julian. I love you." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

The three laid there in silence for a moment. Julian cleared his throat and looked back and forth between his father and Caroline. "You need to say goodnight to each other. You first, Caroline."

She rolled her eyes. "Um, good night, Blaise," she murmured and gave him a quick kiss but couldn't look him in the eye. She undeniably she loved him; she had for a long time, but was too afraid to say it. What if he didn't have the same feelings? She would look like a fool.

Julian whispered to her, "You forgot to say I love you. Now, start over."

She rolled her eyes again and said, "Good night, Blaise. I love you." As she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, he quickly moved his head so that her lips hit his. She smiled at him. "Cheater."

"Now you, Papa."

He reached over and put his hand behind her neck and drew her closer to him, Julian still between the two. Her stomach was doing somersaults and her heart pounding fiercely as he pulled her closer. He looked her straight in the eye and said, "Good night, my darling Caroline. I love you."

Her heart melted. The way he looked at her with his deep brown eyes told her he really meant what he said. At first his kiss was gentle and he intended to make it quick. But as his lips lightly brushed hers, he couldn't stop and kept deepening the kiss.

"Hey, hey, hey," complained Julian as he tried to push the two apart. "You're only allowed to give a little smooch, not a big long snog."

XXXXXXX

Julian was an active sleeper. He never woke up in the same spot as he fell asleep. So this morning, his head was at the foot of the bed hanging over the edge a little. When he woke up, he was a little confused because he wasn't in his own bed. Then he remembered the night before as he sat up and saw his papa and Caroline sleeping together.

Julian slid off the bed and picked up his pajama top from the floor. He quickly put it on and ran to his bedroom to get his robe and slippers. He was starving and wanted to get to the kitchen to get something to eat ASAP. He was a growing boy after all.

During the course of the night, Blaise and Caroline inched closer together. Blaise had his arm protectively around Caroline spooning her, his face nuzzled in her hair. He was half awake and thought he was dreaming when he felt Caroline in his arms. Realizing she was actually in his arms woke him up for real.

"I'd give up all the money in my vaults if I could wake up every morning next to you." Blaise pulled back her hair and kissed her neck. That got a little moan from the blonde waking up. Turning around she stretched and put her arms around his neck.

"Mmm, good morning," she purred as she quickly kissed him on the lips. She would give anything to wake up every morning next to him too.

That wasn't enough for Blaise. He started kissing down her neck, her moaning encouraging him on. She grabbed his hair as his lips traveled further down to her collarbone. Her back arched and her hips started grinding into his erection. Opening up the top of her pajamas, he exposed an ample breast and started ravishing it. As he moved to the other breast, she was about to jump out of her skin. He definitely knew his way around a woman's body.

His breath was ragged when he asked, "Do you remember a while back when I said I didn't want to screw or shag you, but make slow and meaningful love to you?"

She only nodded because she knew she wasn't able to speak at the moment as she caught her breath.

"Well, I lied. I really want to fuck your brains out," he said with a wolfish grin and placed his lips onto hers with a demanding kiss.

Shagging, screwing, making love – Caroline didn't care as long as he was on top of her and inside her before she exploded. She wanted to feel his skin next to hers. The remainder of her clothes quickly came off. "Fuck away. We can make love later."

Blaise knew Julian was probably in the kitchen getting his breakfast, but he locked the door anyway with a wave of his wand. He also silenced the room for good measure.

Caroline's body was nice, but without clothes on, it was spectacular. Every curve was perfect and begged to be touched. He didn't know where to start. He wanted to lick and bite and taste every inch of her. A kid in a candy store would be a good way to describe it.

He fisted his hands in her hair and roughly kissed her. Having a hard time controlling himself, he hadn't realized his need was so strong. He knew he wanted her, but he really needed her more.

Hands were grabbing and pulling all over each other as their lips stayed locked. Her skin was burning and all she could think about is getting closer to him. She wasn't that experienced, comparatively, so she hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself. Her head was swimming with the thought that she was finally having sex with a real man instead of a boy.

She marveled at his body, appreciating the fact that he kept good care of it. Let's face it, the man was ripped. Her goal was to explore every inch of every muscle - later.

He threaded his fingers with hers and raised them above her head. "I can't wait." His voice was thick.

She gave him a slight nod before he plunged into her. She cried out and was surprised that he was inside her so quickly. She thought he would be big, but she didn't expect to be that big - so it took her a moment to adjust.

"Are you okay?" The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

"Way better than okay," she said breathlessly. She was beginning to shiver, and he hadn't even moved yet. She wasn't going to last long as her heart beat furiously and her body hummed. When he finally started to move in and out, glorious waves of pleasure poured over her.

Blaise thought she felt so hot and tight, that he wanted to stay inside her forever, but he knew he wasn't going to last long either. His pace quickened and was pleased to find out she could match him thrust for thrust. No limp fish this one.

"Look at me," he murmured.

She opened up her gray-blue eyes and looked into his. This was going to be her undoing.

"I really do love you, Caroline." With just those words, her heart exploded and her body along with it. She threw her head back and let the passion ride over her. Her orgasm was so intense that she thought she was going to pass out.

With a couple more thrusts, he was quick to follow. In all his sexual experiences, he never felt anything as powerful and intense as what he felt inside Caroline. Putting the silencing charm on the room was a good idea. Their noises would have woken the whole manor.

Blaise collapsed on top of her and quickly rolled off. Lying on his side he pushed sweaty strands of hair away from Caroline's face. As his breathing was getting back under control he said, "That was fucking amazing. Pardon the pun."

He noticed there were tears in Caroline's eyes. "Oh shit, did I hurt you?" he asked with concern. "Sorry that was so fast, but I just couldn't wait."

She shook her head. "No, it's not that at all. It's just that I love you too." She leaned over and kissed him sweetly on the lips. His heart did flip-flops when she said it which made him love her even more.

A thought suddenly occurred to him and he slapped his hands over his eyes in dismay. "With everything going so fast, I forgot to cast a contraception spell. Oh shit..."

Seeing the look on his face made her burst out laughing.

"This is not funny, Caroline."

"Sorry, but don't worry about it. I'm on the potion."

"Just another reason why I love you." A very relieved Blaise gave her a quick kiss and started to get out of bed. "I really want to stay in this bed all day with you, but we really need to get dressed before Julian comes back."

XXXXX

Draco was down the kitchen enjoying his first cup of coffee of the day. He didn't get much sleep since he was tied up most of the night. His peace was ruined when Julian bounced in and started gathering all the ingredients to make his breakfast…bread, peanut butter, pickles and Capt. Crunch cereal.

Each time Julian got a knife full of peanut butter and spread it over his bread, he licked the knife and stuck it back in the jar to get another knife full. And each time he did that, Draco cringed and made a mental note not to use that particular jar of peanut butter.

After the peanut butter was spread to his liking, Julian took the pickles and laid them on top. He then opened up the box of cereal and shoved his hand in the box. Draco made another mental note not to eat from that particular box of cereal.

After grabbing a fistful of cereal he placed each piece carefully over the pickles.

"You really are your mother's son," muttered Draco. He remembered the odd food Luna used to eat. "And where is your father? He should be down here helping you make your breakfast."

"I can do it myself," claimed the little boy. He put the other piece of bread on top and stood back to admire his creation. "Besides, Papa is still in bed with Caroline."


	14. Chapter 13

A/N: You have every right to tar and feather me., but this is the longest chapter yet, so I hope that makes up a little for my delay. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your comments. They really inspire me.

You'll be able to tell where I got the idea for this chapter - it's pretty obvious. But what the heck. The parts that are not in italics are the present time. Also, Isabella will be dealt with soon. Don't worry, she'll get hers.

Disclaimer: All characters (except for Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

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Chapter 13

Much to Caroline's disappointment, Blaise started to get dressed for the day. "I'm serious, Caroline, you need to get dressed. I don't want Julian coming in here getting an eyeful. That's only reserved for me," he grinned.

"But I'm so comfy," whined the curly-haired blonde as she snuggled into the covers.

Blaise crawled back onto the bed and whispered in her ear. "If you get up and dressed, I promise to do some really naughty things to you later." He gave her a quick smack on her bottom.

That's all it took for her to get out of bed. She scurried about and picked up her clothes and got dressed in a flash. A look of amusement covered her face. "I guess these flannel pajamas didn't scare you off like I had hoped."

"Oh, so that's why you changed," he said as he put his arms around her waist. "I hate to tell you this, darlin', but even if you wore a potato sack, I'd still want you." He lowered his head and gave her a small kiss. "Actually, I think you look pretty sexy in those pajamas. See, he pointed to his crotch. "I'm getting hard just looking at you."

She playfully pushed his chest. "That's not saying much, you'll get hard at anything. I bet you'd get hard just looking at the Mona Lisa."

"Well, she is pretty hot, you know." Blaise ran his hands under her shirt and started to massage her breasts. Caroline moaned and leaned into him wanting more.

"Is there anything that you can look at and not think a sexual thought?" She stood on her toes and started to nibble on is neck.

"Sure, lots of things. Isabella for one." He grinned as he kissed her on the nose. "What a way to ruin a mood."

"You are so bad." She laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "And bad boys must be punished."

"Yes, bad boys must be punished," said Draco, with his hands on his hips and murder in his eyes. He stood in the doorway looking way more than pissed off.

"How did you get in here? The doors are locked," said Blaise.

"My house. I can get into anything room – any time." Draco slowly walked into the room and looked at the unmade bed.

"Daddy, don't get bent out of shape. Nothing happened. I just spent the night with Julian and Blaise because Julian was having nightmares. That's all."

Draco walked slowly to the bed. "That's all, huh?" He withdrew his wand. A scrap of pink was showing from under the dust ruffle. He picked the piece of fabric with his wand. It was Caroline's thong.

Caroline muttered, "Oh, shit."

"Yes, oh shit is right, you lying whore!" Caroline flinched. "Here I thought you were this innocent girl and come to find out you've been fucking around since you were fourteen."

"Don't you think that is a little harsh, Draco?" asked Blaise.

"I'm not a whore and I haven't been fooling around. If you want to know who's screwing around, just look at your son."

"And?"

"Oh, so it's okay for him to have sex but not me."

"Precisely. The Malfoy men have always… I am not having this conversation with you." He raised his wand and pointed it at Blaise. "Caroline, don't' get involved with Blaise. You know his track record with women. He has sex with them a couple of times and then goes off to the next victim. He's caused a few broken hearts; I just don't want him to break yours."

"I'm right here, you know," said Blaise.

"Go to your room, Caroline; Blaise and I need to come to an understanding."

Caroline stood in her place next to Blaise and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going anywhere. This involves me and I'm staying."

"Leave, Caroline!"

"If you're blaming Blaise for all this, you're wrong, wrong, wrong." She narrowed her eyes at Draco. "Since you think I'm a whore anyway, did you ever think that maybe I'm the one who seduced Blaise? Did you ever think of that? Hmmm?"

Then she went in for the kill. "Did you ever think that your little girl would want to _fuck _your best friend?"

You could have knocked Draco over with a feather. He looked horror-stricken. He raised his hand to hit her when Blaise stepped between the two. "Now, now, let's tone it down a notch." He held both of them back so they wouldn't go after each other.

"You, I'll deal with you in a minute. Now get out of my way. I'm going to wring her pretty little neck."

"Absolutely not. If you want to strangle her, you've got to go through me first." The tall Italian put his hands on his hips.

Draco pointed at her. "You little bitch," he yelled. "I've had it with your bullshit. You have 24 hours to get out of my house. You are no longer my daughter, Caroline."

Feelings of hurt and anger took over. "Well, that works for me. Finally I have freedom and I won't have to live under your dictatorship any longer."

Little Julian was watching from around the door, unseen. He covered his ears because he didn't like that the adults talked mean and loud to each other.

"And you," said Draco as he looked at Blaise, "I can't believe you betrayed me like that. I asked you to keep an eye on her, not sleep with her. We've been best friends forever, and for you to sink so low as to go after my daughter…" He drew back his wand ready to hex Blaise when Julian ran toward Draco and screamed.

"Noooooo! You leave my papa alone." Julian remembered one of the karate moves Robbie had shown him, ran up to Draco and gave him a roundhouse kick to the groin.

Bent over in agony, Draco fell to his knees and the spell that was meant for Blaise hit Caroline in the chest instead. She flew through the air and hit the wall extremely hard, knocking her head on a large sconce. She slid down the wall, unconscious.

Time stood still for a minute. Julian was the first to react. He ran over to Caroline, saw the blood in her blond hair and screamed, "Nooooo, don't die. Please!" He shook her shoulders. "Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP! Please!" The little boy was hysterical. Blaise tried to see how injured Caroline was but had a hard time pulling Julian away from her.

Caroline started to stir. She opened her eyes, looked over at Julian and said, "Okay, I hear you, I'm awake. Now stop screaming." She had a bitch of a headache and Julian's screaming didn't help. Blaise helped her sit up.

"My angel! You're alive!" Julian gave her a huge hug and almost knocked her down again. "You woke up!"

Hermione heard all the commotion and ran into the room. The first thing she saw was Draco lying lifeless on the floor.

"What in Merlin's name is going on in here?" she said as she bent down to see if her husband was still breathing. He was, but just barely. "We need to get him to St. Mungo's. It looks like he's had another heart attack."

Knowing that Caroline was going to be alright, Blaise went over to Draco and checked his pulse. Julian slowly walked over to them. "Did I kill him? I didn't mean to. I swear!"

Caroline crawled over to her father. "Don't worry; you didn't kill him, Julian. This son-of-a-bitch is too mean to die."

XXXXXXX

Voices sounded far away. Draco knew he was lying on a hospital bed. But was he dead or alive? That was the question. He was about to find out. A huge bright white light flashed, almost blinding him.

OOOO

_Draco blinked his eyes adjusting them from the light. He realized he was not in his hospital room, but in the main ballroom in Malfoy Manor. The room was decorated in all white – white organza bows, white candles, white chairs - the works. The only color came from bouquets of flowers around the room. _

_There were two sections of rows of chairs with an aisle going down the middle. Draco sat there taking in the scenery. People milled about before taking their seats. He looked toward the front and noticed Blaise standing there nervously waiting. Julian stood beside him in his little dress robes like his papa. Draco put all the clues together and decided that this must be Blaise and Isabella's wedding. _

_Everyone took their seats as the music started. After the two bridesmaids walked down the aisle, everyone stood, waiting for the bride to make her appearance._

_As the bride slowly walked down the aisle, the guests stood. There were too many people in Draco's way and he couldn't see her clearly. As she passed his row, he finally got a good look at her. It wasn't Isabella walking down the aisle, it was Caroline!_

_Caroline looked stunningly beautiful and amazingly happy. He looked over at Blaise and the worry he saw earlier was gone. His face was lit up like a child's at Christmas. _

_No, this couldn't be happening. Draco made his way to the aisle and stood in front of Caroline trying to stop her. But she couldn't see her father and walked right through him as he tried to block her way._

"_What the fuck?" He looked down at his body in disbelief. No one could see or hear him. "I'm a fucking_ _ghost_._" He ran up toward the alter and tried to stop her again with no success._

_As the two were saying their vows, Draco screamed. "Nooooo! Caroline, please listen to me. Don't do this. He's going to leave you and break your heart. Please, I beg you, don't marry him. You need to find someone your own age."_

"_I now pronounce you husband and wife," said the official after the vows were made. Blaise scooped Caroline up in his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow and a little bit too long to be appropriate._

"_Get a room," Draco could hear Robbie say. Everyone around him chuckled._

XXXXXXX

Everyone around him chuckled. Blaise told everyone about Julian kicking Draco in the balls.

"You know, it's funny, but it's not funny when here he is lying so still like this," said Hermione. "I wish the healer would come back with some news."

"It's all my fault," said Caroline. She was filled with guilt because she was the reason for his heart attack. She sat beside him and held his hand.

"I wouldn't say it's all your fault. Your dad is pretty willful from time to time. And you can be so stubborn sometimes, Caroline."

OOOO

"_You can be so stubborn sometimes, Caroline," said Hermione._

_Draco looked around him to see that he was in a bright, white hospital room - but not his hospital room. Lying in bed was Caroline with everyone she loved around her – Hermione, Narcissa, Carol, Rosie and Robbie. For a moment, he panicked thinking she was really ill. But then he realized that this was a happy occasion with all the flowers and balloons around the room._

"_But Mum, I'm fine, the baby's fine. I just want to go home."_

"_You'll go home when the mediwitch says you can go home."_

_Draco walked closer to the bed and peered down. Caroline was holding a little baby girl in her arms. He realized that this squirming little person was his granddaughter, and she was beautiful. _

_Her hair was very dark, almost black and had just a little curl to it. A tiny bow was tied at the top of her small head. She was very alert for a newborn with her blue-gray eyes looking around._

_Draco noticed that Blaise wasn't in the room. He knew that son-of-a-bitch would pull a disappearing act and leave his daughter. He just knew it. That bastard._

_Just as soon as that thought left his mind, Blaise walked into the room holding Julian's hand._

"_Someone wants to see his little sister." He hoisted the little boy up on the side of the bed. Julian looked at the baby and softly touched her cheek._

"_She's so soft," he said. "I'll help feed her, give her a bath, change her clothes and play with her. But I draw the line at wiping poop off her bum. Just so you know." _

_Caroline laughed. "Duly noted, sir. No poop wiping for you." _

_Blaise bent down and kissed Caroline softly on the top of her head. "I must be the luckiest bastard in the world being surrounded by all these beautiful women."_

"_Hey, what about me?" asked Robbie. "What am I, chopped liver?"_

"_No, you're a dude. I didn't think you would want to be lumped in with beautiful women. Same goes for Julian."_

"_Yeah, I'm a dude," said Julian proudly. _

"_That you are, my friend." Everyone turned to see Stefan in the doorway. Blaise's cousin walked in and gave Julian's head a little rub._

"_Uncle Stefan! You came."_

"_Now how could I miss seeing my new little niece, cousin, whatever?" He looked down at the tiny infant. "Okay, let's take a look at this little munchkin. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say she's a 12."_

"_What do you mean she's a 12? She's definitely a 15," said the proud papa._

_Narcissa started to leave the room. "It's getting a little crowded in here. I'll be outside." Carol nodded in agreement and followed Narcissa. Robbie and Rosie left as well. _

_Blaise carefully put the baby in Stefan's arms. Caroline giggled. "Now that's a sight to see…two big, tall, imposing wizards going all mushy around a little baby. I wish I had a picture of this."_

"_Actually I have a camera," said Hermione. "Now as an official grandmother, it is my duty to take millions of pictures and brag about my granddaughter."_

_"Grandmother? You're too young to be a grandmother - are you sure you aren't Caroline's sister?" asked Stefan._

_Hermione blushed. _

_Wait a minute, thought Draco. He's flirting with my wife! That SOB is flirting with my wife. I'll kill him! Where's my wand? Shit, I don't have a wand. This really sucks_.

"_I wish her grandfather could see her." Caroline frowned." I know he would fall in love with her and probably spoil her to death." She took the baby back in her arms._

"_Well, wherever he is, he knows she's here. He's probably looking down on her right now," said Hermione._

_If they only knew, thought Draco. Instead of Stefan cooing over the baby, he should have been the one holding his granddaughter. He reached down to see if he could touch her. He would give anything to be able to hold her. Just when his fingers reached her arm, she looked straight at him. That made him a little unnerved so he quickly retracted his hand._

"_I wonder what's she's looking at? There's nothing on the wall."_

"_Probably just a bug or something." Blaise picked up the pink bundle from Caroline. "We all need to get out of here and let you rest."_

"_No, please leave Sophia here," begged Caroline._

_Sophia – that name sounded so familiar to Draco. He knew he had heard it before. But where – or more likely – when?_

"_Don't worry, she won't leave my sight. I'll bring her back after you've taken a nap." Blaise lowered his head and kissed his wife lightly on the lips. "I love you so much."_

XXXXXXXX

"I love you so much," said Caroline to Draco. He was still unconscious. She was the only one sitting in the room at the moment. Everyone had temporarily left for one reason or another.

"I hope you can hear me." She grabbed his hand once again and squeezed lightly. "I've said some really horrible things to you. I didn't mean them. I wish I could take it all back. Please forgive me." Tears spilled down her cheeks.

Blaise walked up silently behind her and squeezed her shoulder. "Keep talking to him. He needs you to keep talking. He's more likely to wake up."

Caroline nodded. "Do you remember the first day we met? We were in the bookstore, but then moved out to the park because you and mum were arguing. I went over to swing on the swings, but I could still hear your voices.

"Do you know that I still go to that park sometimes? I swing on the swings, and sometimes have a little picnic. I love that park."

Draco loved that park too. He would visit it himself whenever he got a few spare minutes.

OOOO

_He sat on the bench under his favorite tree. He turned his face up to the sky, feeling the sunshine. As usual, he heard children playing and laughing._

_He saw a little girl and older boy kicking a ball to each other. They were doing this for quite some time when the boy kicked the ball harder than necessary making it pass by the little girl. It rolled over to the bench where Draco was sitting._

_The girl chased the ball to get it back, when she stopped suddenly in front of Draco. She looked at him carefully. She noticed the man had the same eyes as she and the same hair color as her mum and baby sister._

"_You can see me?" asked Draco. The girl nodded but remained silent. _

_The girl felt familiar to Draco, but he couldn't quite place her. She had really dark curly hair and light eyes. Kind of strange, but striking. The two stared at each other._

"_Kids, time to eat," shouted a woman nearby. Draco turned around and was surprised to see Caroline. She was putting out the food and drinks on a blanket. She and her family were having a picnic. There was a baby crawling around on the blanket, trying to get into the basket of food._

"_Now, Chloe, stay out of there." The baby picked up two spoons out of the basket and started hitting them together. That's what Draco pictured Caroline would have looked like at that age._

_Blaise picked the baby up and started to tickle her. She screamed in delight. He started to give her little kisses all over. He looked liked the happiest man on earth. Draco was envious._

"_Sophia, Julian, I'm not going to tell you again," yelled Caroline._

"_So your name is Sophia," said Draco to his granddaughter. "That's a pretty name. And your sister's name is Chloe? That's a pretty name too." The girl nodded but didn't say anything._

"_How old are you?" She held up five fingers._

"_You don't talk much do you?"_

_She bent down, picked up the ball and said, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She turned and ran off toward her family._

_There is was. Reality. He was a stranger to his own family. Because of his stubbornness he was missing out on what could have been the best times of his life. _

_He could have walked his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He could have been there when his grandchildren were born. All these milestones were missed because he was too hardheaded to admit that his way wasn't always the best way. _

_He should have treated Blaise better and trusted him more. After all, he was his best friend and confidant. He should know that Blaise wouldn't hurt Caroline. _

_Draco Malfoy never cried, but he was about to now. _

XXXXXXX

"He's crying. I see a tear," said Caroline. "He never cries." Her hand still held his.

The healer was checking all Draco's vital signs and said, "I wouldn't worry about it. We gave him a really strong sedative potion. He's probably having some pretty wild dreams."

Draco lay there motionless and squeezed Caroline's hand.


	15. Chapter 14

A/N: I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I know it's been forever since I updated. Alot has happened in the last couple of months. I started this chapter ages ago and then I had computer problems. It was put on hold for a while when my mom had a couple of stokes and was in the hospital. I had some health problems and ended up in the ER myself. But all is well now and here is the next chapter.

To answer a couple of questions: Sophia is what they called Caroline in "Sweet Caroline" when she took the aging potion and they didn't want anyone to know who she was. This story won't be as long as the other one. I'd guess there are only a few chapters left. Thank you all for your patience. Thanks also to KourneyCullen for making an awesome banner. Everytime I try to post it to my profile, it disappears. If anyone knows how I can post it, please let me know.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 14

Caroline visited her father every day while he was in the hospital. She wasn't sure if he could hear her or not, but she was always at his side holding his hand. Every day she regretted her words to him. She wished that just once she would think before she opened her mouth.

She was sitting on the side of Draco's bed when Blaise came in the room holding a bottle of Old Culpepper Whiskey. He sat down and took two shot glasses from the inside pockets of his robes.

"What do you think you're doing with that?" asked Caroline.

"Celebrating, of course," grinned Blaise as he poured two shots of whiskey. "Your father will be the new proud owner of Culpepper Distillery after the colonel signs the papers this evening. I just thought we could celebrate a little early."

"Are you crazy? You can't bring whiskey into the hospital. What if the healer catches you?"

"I'll just offer him a drink. What else?"

Caroline just rolled her eyes and walked over to where Blaise was standing next to a small table and took one of the shot glasses full of the amber liquid. She downed the drink with a quick toss of her head. She didn't flinch at the strong taste of the alcohol. That was just one more thing Blaise loved about her. She could knock back a drink with the best of them.

"Mmm, not bad. Daddy will be pleased." She held out the empty glass so Blaise could refill it. "Where's Mini Me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Julian skipped into the room with a small notebook in his hands. "Sorry I'm late; I had to borrow a pencil from the nice lady at the front desk. Did any cussing go on that I need to mark down?"

Blaise stood with his hands on his hips. "This is your fault, Caroline," he said with a twinkle in his eye and a half smile on his lips. "You had to give him the idea off a curse notebook. Now all he does is follow me around waiting for me to slip up."

"Hey, don't knock it," said the petite blonde. "I made a lot of money off you and Daddy when I was little." She turned to Julian and smiled. "Remember, the f-word counts as double."

"Oh yeah," said Julian. "I forgot about that." He proceeded to sit down and make a few adjustments on one of the pages.

"Well I'm not the only one who's going to rack up a tab. You'd better make a page for Draco because when he wakes up, he's going to be in rare form.

"Fuckin' A," said the sluggish patient. They all looked at Draco in shock. He had been awake for a while but just then decided to say something. His eyes were still closed. "How about a drink for the old man?"

"Daddy! You're awake." Caroline bent down and gave him a soft hug.

"How the hell could I not be with all this yammering going on?" Draco's voice was very weak, and he only opened one eye.

"Oh boy, oh boy. I'm going to be rich!" Julian was rubbing his hands together in anticipation of all the galleons he would be awarded. "How do you spell Draco? With a 'c' or a 'k'?

* * *

Blaise knew that Caroline and Draco needed to talk, so he excused himself and Julian and went to find a healer to tell him that Draco was now awake. He would talk to him later – right now father and daughter needed to repair the damage. He lightly kissed the top of Caroline's head and left the room with his son.

Caroline and Draco started to talk at the same time. Draco held his hand up so he could talk.

"Cupcake, I don't want to lose you. I want you to be happy, but please think, THINK about what you're doing with Blaise. It's a lose-lose situation especially when he gets married. I don't want you to get hurt." He thought about his "dreams" and took them as a sign that if we wanted to be part of her life, he'd have to let go and let her make her own decisions. That was a hard potion for him to swallow.

"Daddy, I should have never said those things to you. I just wanted to make you mad – I wanted to hurt you. I don't know what will happen between Blaise and me. I realize that there probably isn't a future for us, but I love him. If I can only have him a week, it will be worth it." She lowered her head and Draco saw a tear drop hanging from one of her eyelashes.

He reached out his arms and she leaned over so she could hug him. He held her a tight as he was able and prayed that he would be strong enough to help her pick up the pieces when her heart shattered.

* * *

Blaise sat in the waiting room and closed his eyes. He was dying to touch Caroline, to hold her, to taste her again. Just the thought of him holding her in his arms made his stomach flip. He never felt that way with anyone before, not even Luna – not really. The more he thought about Caroline, the more determined he was that he wanted her to be with him permanently. As he sat there waiting with Julian, he devised a plan that would make Isabella so pissed off that there's no way she'd want to marry him. It was so simple he couldn't believe he didn't think of it before. It just had to work.

* * *

With Draco in the hospital, Blaise realized that it was difficult for Hermione to think about entertaining the Culpeppers for dinner. He had worked a long time putting this deal together, so he decided to host the Culpeppers himself.

When the Culpeppers came to visit they fell in love with Malfoy Manor. Darlene especially was taking in all the antiques and other holiday décor. Caroline and Hermione spent days decorating the manor for Christmas. The Culpeppers lived in a very nice house in Tennessee, but nothing as extravagant as Malfoy Manor. After touring the manor, they strolled into the dining room finally.

Darlene noticed the ring on Isabella's left hand as she took her seat. "What a lovely ring," commented Darlene on the big rock on Isabella's finger. She looked at it curiously. "I've seen that ring before."

"Impossible, it's an enchanted engagement ring and it's been in Blaise's family for years," said Isabella smugly.

"No, I'm sure I've seen that ring before. I never forget a piece of jewelry." She decided to drop the subject for now. She'd have to put on her thinking cap to remember where she'd seen that ring.

Julian came in after the adults wearing a lion's head on his hat. He strode up to the colonel and his wife and offered his hand for a handshake.

"My name is Zabini, please don't touch my weenie."

The colonel guffawed at the little boy. "Don't worry, son, your weenie is safe."

"Did Robbie put you up to this?" asked Blaise.

Robbie looked the other way pretending he wasn't listening.

Julian nodded his head and giggled. He climbed up on his chair and grabbed his glass of milk. He took a big drink which left a milk mustache on his upper lip. Everyone looked at the little boy with amusement – except Isabella.

"Take off that stupid hat," said Isabella. The lion's head turned and looked at Isabella. It roared at her which startled her and made her drop the glass of wine she was holding. "You idiot! Looked what you've done!" She tried to wipe the wine off her blouse.

"Watch your tone with my son," said Blaise. "Don't blame him because you're clumsy." Isabella huffed and left the room to change her blouse.

"I kind of like it," said Darlene. "I could use a hat like that sometimes."

"Yeah, I could use one of those too to scare the shit out of my mother-in-law." The colonel laughed.

"Oh, Willy, you're awful. My mama's never done anything to you."

"I hate mothers-in-law on principle. I've had five of 'em." He snorted.

"My mum made it," said Julian. "She's an angel up in heaven."

"Sorry to hear about your mama," said Darlene said sadly.

He nodded and without missing a beat said, "Are those real boobs?"

"Julian!" scolded Blaise. "Watch your manners."

"Sorry." The little Zabini cleared his throat. "Are those real boobs…ma'am? My papa told me to never marry a lady with fake…" Blaise clapped his hand over Julian's mouth.

Darlene threw her head back in laughter. "Why, you are a cute little thing." Blaise groaned shook his head.

"Son," said the colonel, "everything on Darlene is fake. Her hair, her fingernails, her eyelashes. Hell, even one of her teeth is fake.

Darlene laughed, "Sugar, you wouldn't believe how much money it takes to look this cheap."

"Ain't that the truth," said the colonel. He looked over at the little boy. "Do you like jokes?" Julian nodded.

"Do you know why the skeleton wouldn't go to the Christmas party?"

Julian shook his head.

"He had no _body_ to go with." Julian rolled his eyes and groaned.

"What happened to the Muggle who brushed his teeth with gunpowder?"

"I don't know."

"He kept shooting his mouth off." That got a giggle out of the little boy. How it was his turn.

"How do you keep a wizard in suspense?" asked Julian.

"I don't know. How do you keep a wizard in suspense?" asked the colonal.

Julian put his hand up to his mouth and giggled. "I'll tell you tomorrow."

Darlene laughed. "He gotcha, Willy. Good one, Sugar."

"You got one over on the colonel. You are just too smart," said the old man chuckling.

* * *

After dinner Blaise and the colonel finished dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's on the contract. Draco was now the proud owner of Culpepper Distillery in Tennessee.

Robbie and Julian were bored and left to play video games. Rosie had nothing better to do, so she followed them, taking a book on jewelry with her. She had researched several tomes involving jewels and jewelry, but had not found anything about the enchanted engagement ring that Isabella wore. There were still a couple of books locked up in the Dark Magic section of the Malfoy library that she had not looked at yet. Those were next on her list.

The adults celebrated with a bottle (actually two) of Old Culpepper Whiskey. Darlene wasn't kidding when she said firewhiskey was like kool-aid. This whiskey kicked butt and took no prisoners. Blaise found his new favorite drink.

The Culpeppers decided to call it a night. After the couple left, Caroline and Blaise kept on celebrating with the whiskey. Caroline decided to have a little fun with Blaise. He looked very serious as he looked over the signed contract once again. She thought he looked adorable wearing his glasses.

There were several desserts on the table. She was eating a hot fudge sundae. She dipped her spoon in the chocolate fudge and licked it off her spoon with long licks. That got Blaise's attention away from the contract. She took her shoe off and reached her foot over to Blaise's side of the table and rested her foot between his crotch.

Caroline wore a low cut sweater that hugged her curves. She "accidentally" let a drop of fudge drip on her cleavage. She scooped the drop up with her finger and slowly sucked the fudge off. Blaise's eyes darkened as he looked at her while she was doing this. He wanted her, and she knew it. She smirked at him.

Blaise stood up from the table and walked over to the other side, grabbed Caroline's wrist and dragged her to her feet. He threw her up against the wall and trapped her with his arms on either side of her. He dipped his head down and kissed her neck.

"You are driving me insane." His hand reached down her thigh and lifted up her skirt. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that she wasn't wearing any knickers. "Now it's my turn for dessert."

"Do you know how hot you look when you're wearing your glasses?" She ran her fingers through his dark hair and took off the glasses. She reached up on her tip-toes and gave him a searing kiss.

Before things got too hot and heavy a small voice came from the doorway. "Papa, I don't feel so good. My tummy hurts." Caroline looked past Blaise and saw Julian standing there this his hands over his belly.

"Poor guy. He probably ate too many cookies. You take care of him, and I'll clean up this mess," said Caroline.

Blaise whispered in her ear, "Remember where we left off. I'll be right back." He turned and scooped Julian up in his arms and left the room.

Caroline sat back down at the table and finished her dessert. She was just about done and was getting up when a green flash came through the fireplace. All of a sudden an older witch with long blond hair appeared and stepped out of the fireplace dusting herself off.

"Nana!" Caroline cried. She ran up to her grandmother and gave her a big hug. "I'm so glad to see you. I thought you weren't coming until Christmas."

"Well, with your father in the hospital, I decided I needed to come back a few days earlier." She gave Caroline a pointed look. "Oh, Caroline, what am I going to do with you?"

"I can't help it, Nana. It seems no matter what I do, I always do the wrong thing."

Narcissa hugged her granddaughter and stood back to look at her. "You look different, little one." She gently touched Caroline's chin. "You have that special glow about you. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in love."

Caroline dipped her head and blushed.

"You ARE in love, aren't you?" asked the older witch smiling.

"Oh, Nana, I love him so much, and he loves me for me, flaws and all. He gets me like no man ever has."

"Well, who is this young man? And when am I going to meet him?"

"You, um, already know him. It's Blaise."

"Blaise? Blaise Zabini?" Narcissa couldn't hide her shock or disappointment. "Oh, Caroline…"

"Before you start, Nana, I've heard it all. He's a womanizer, he's too old for me, he's engaged to another woman…"

"Engaged? To whom?"

Caroline sighed. "It's sort of an arranged engagement. He can't stand the woman, but he was forced into this situation. He's engaged to Isabella Rossi."

Narcissa looked at her granddaughter is disbelief. "Did you say Isabella Rossi?"

Caroline nodded her head.

"Are you sure it's Isabella Rossi?"

Again, Caroline nodded her head.

"That's impossible. I know the Rossi family quite well. Isabella Rossi died five years ago!"


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: Please don't hate me for taking forever to update this story. I haven't forgotten about it and plan to finish it. I promise I won't take as long for the next update. I've had some health issues to deal with plus I was trying to decide which direction I wanted to take the story.

I posted the awesome banner KourtneyCullen made in my photobucket account. Thanks to JenJenSon for suggesting that. You can get the link on my profile page.

Can you guess who the impostor is? There are some clues in this chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and a few others) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 15

Rosie couldn't stop thinking about what Darlene Culpepper said at dinner about Isabella's ring. Darlene knew something about it. Something that, so far, Rosie had not been able to find out in the books she was researching.

The Culpeppers were guests at the Malfoy Manor and were staying in one of the suites in the south wing. Walking quietly down the corridor where the Culpepper's were staying, Rosie stopped in front of the double wooden doors. She hesitated a moment before knocking timidly.

Darlene opened the doors to their suite dressed in a silk nightgown and matching robe. It was obvious she was about the turn in for the night. She looked at the small teenager in surprise.

"Miss Rosie! What are you doing out and about this time of night?"

"Sorry to disturb you Mrs. Culpepper…"

"Now, nonsense. You can call me Darlene. What can I do for you?" She stood aside and let Rosie enter their suite. Rosie could hear the Colonel snoring in the other room.

"I'm, um, here to ask you about Isabella's ring. You said you had seen it before."

"Maybe not that one specifically, but I've seen one like it." Darlene led Rosie further into their suite and sat down in one of the blue winged-back chairs. "I've been straining my brain trying to think of where I've seen that ring before."

"Well, I'm here to ask for your assistance, Mrs. Cul…Darlene." Rosie cleared her throat and continued. "There is a special book about magical jewelry used in the dark arts in our library that I don't have access to because I'm under aged. My mum put a spell on a special section of dark magic books many years ago. I need your help retrieving that book."

"Because I'm obviously not under aged." Darlene laughed. Rosie didn't say a peep at dinnertime, and Darlene was surprised to hear her talk so much. "Sure, I'll help you. When?"

Rosie's face lit up. She looked at the older witch hopefully. "Now?" She gave her a faint smile.

Darlene looked through the bedroom door at her snoring husband. "Sure, what the hell. I'm really not sleepy, and the Colonel won't know any different. He's blissfully sawing logs. Let's go find us that ring!"

* * *

After what Narcissa told Caroline about Isabella, her head was reeling. According to the story, Isabella was out on a yacht with some other well-to-do friends. They had been drinking and enjoying the warm weather on the Mediterranean. The music was loud and so was the laughter. It was dusk when one of her girlfriends noticed Isabella wasn't around anymore. The young people looked into every nook and cranny of the ship for Isabella, but she was nowhere to be found. After the authorities searched the sea for a week, they never found her body. Isabella was finally declared dead. If she was truly dead, then who was that woman pretending to be Isabella Rossi? Caroline was determined to find out.

* * *

Narcissa claimed to be tired and wanted to go to bed so after they talked, Caroline took off to look for Blaise. She had to tell him that his fiancée was an impostor. He would be off the hook. There's no way that he could be bound to marry someone who was not actually who she claimed. Caroline couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she told him. He would be free to live his life with Julian as he pleased. She didn't dare to hope that maybe she would be part of his future. No, Blaise was going to be a free agent, and knowing him, he would celebrate being single and unattached.

The first place she looked was in Julian's bedroom, since that's where Blaise probably took him after complaining of a tummy ache. She was surprised to find Julian in the bed, but no Blaise. She was ready to turn around and leave when she heard a tiny voice.

"Angel?" The little boy sat up in bed wearing the pajamas with the flying blooms. He patted the bed next to him waiting for her to sit down. "Would you stay with me for a while?"

Caroline had a hard time saying no to him, so she sat down and leaned back on the headboard. "Where's your papa? You should be asleep by now," she said as she calmly rubbed his head. She always loved it when her Nana rubbed her head when she was a little girl.

"He got a phone call. I think it was Uncle Stefan!" Julian called Blaise's cousin Stefan his uncle. It was just easier that way. He couldn't remember if Stefan was his second cousin, or his first cousin, once removed, or whatever. So uncle it was.

Julian snuggled closer to her. "You're soft and smell good, just like my mum used to. But I think you smell even better. More strawberries and vanilla. I like strawberries." He reached up and touched her breast. "I think you're softer too."

Caroline slapped the offending little hand away from her bosom. "No touchie, you little pervert. Like father, like son," she laughed.

"Can't blame a guy for tryin'." He secretly smiled as he burrowed deeper into his covers and fell asleep with her arms around him.

After she was certain he was asleep, Caroline carefully left his bed to search for Blaise.

* * *

Stefan's phone call couldn't have come at a better time. Now that Blaise was getting married, there was no reason for Stefan to remain in hiding. Blaise was no longer angry at his cousin for ditching his family responsibilities and leaving Blaise to marry Isabella. Now the game had changed (and not to Isabella's favor).

Blaise finished up the contracts and Stefan would be there any minute now to sign as a witness. Blaise's plan was simple really. He was giving all his assets to Julian including the Zabini mansion. Not only that, he was going to give full custody of Julian to Caroline. She would also have all control over Julian's assets. That way if something were to happen to Blaise, Julian would be taken care of and at least would have a home. He trusted Caroline implicitly and knew she would do what was in Julian's best interest.

In short, Isabella would be marrying someone who didn't have a galleon to his name. Blaise smiled at the thought of Isabella blowing her stack when she heard the news. He couldn't wait to see that self-righteous bitch explode.

* * *

Darlene looked around in the Malfoy library is awe. She had never been in a private library with so many books. Heck, even some public libraries in Tennessee were smaller.

"Wow! You guys must really like to read!"

"My mum's kind of fanatical about books," answered Rosie. "The restricted section is just over here." She led the way to a door leading to a smaller room flanked by two flaming sconces. "Go ahead, try to open it."

Darlene took out her wand. "_Alohamora!_" She tapped her wand to the doorknob and the door effortlessly opened. Rosie let out a sign of relief as the door opened to a small dark room. She took one of the candles out of the sconce and handed it to Darlene.

"This is one creepy room," said Darlene shivering with a chill. She stepped into the room with Rosie close behind. There were a lot more books in the restricted section than Rosie had originally imagined. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to read some of those books. But now their task was to find the book with the ring in it.

"Over here," Rosie pointed to a large book that was about eye-level. Darlene carefully took the book from shelf and was just about to open it when someone appeared in the doorway.

"What are you two doing?"

Darlene jumped in fright and put her hand over her chest. "Merlin, Caroline! You scared the bejesus out of me!"

"Sorry about that. I'm looking for Blaise. Oh, have you found anything about the ring?"

"We were just looking…" All three gathered around the book flipping pages back and forth until they found what they were looking for.

"Well, I'll be damned. It's not an enchanted engagement ring at all," exclaimed Darlene.

"A polyjuice ring?" Rosie asked.

Caroline quickly read the description and its powers. "So that's how she's doing it."

* * *

Isabella looked at herself in the mirror. She changed out of the stained blouse and put on her dressing robe. She studied her face long and hard. She was really getting used to Isabella's face. It had been so long since she'd seen her own real face; she couldn't quite remember what she really looked like.

As she stared into the mirror, a new plan was formulating in her head. If she was going to have the Zabini fortune, why not go for it all and have Zabini's love too? At the same time, she would tap into the Malfoy fortune as well. It was a win-win situation for her all around if she could pull this off. Why couldn't she? She had the ring.

She looked down at her hand with the large stone set in a platinum setting. She told everyone it was an enchanted engagement ring. And everyone believed her, especially Blaise. But it wasn't an enchanted engagement ring at all. It was a polyjuice ring. It had the same effect as polyjuice potion but the wearer could maintain the form of the other person as long as he or she wore the ring. The stone would lift and reveal a secret compartment that held a few drops of liquid and a piece of the real Isabella Rossi's hair. All she would need to do is switch the piece of Isabella's hair to a lock of long blond curly hair. She would have the Zabini fortune, the Malfoy fortune and have the body of a nineteen-year-old – and she would have Blaise's love.

The person posing as Isabella knew Blaise was a good lover – at least he was when they went to Hogwarts. They were both in Slytherin house and would sneak away just to have sex when the mood struck. She knew Blaise didn't love her, just as most of the boys in the house didn't love her. They just used her for sex. It was nice, though, to be wanted – even if it was just for her body. Just think how much Blaise would have improved after all these years. Her body was getting all tingly with excitement.

Now then, how to get rid of the real Caroline? She didn't really want to kill her. She caused the death of the real Isabella Rossi, but that was an accident. One slight push overboard and that's all it took. It was way too easy really. But she didn't want another death on her hands. No, Caroline would have to be dealt with in a different way.

* * *

Stefan finally arrived and was looking over the contacts Blaise prepared. The cousins were catching up on lost time and sharing a bottle of firewhiskey. Blaise told Stefan about Caroline and the whole mess with Isabella when the double doors to the study burst open and in came Caroline followed by Rosie and Darlene.

The last time Stefan saw Caroline, she was just a little girl. He was surprised how lovely she was as a young woman. He could see how his cousin had fallen in love with the petite beauty.

"Hello, Princess." Stefan pulled Caroline into a big hug. "It's been too long..." He looked past Caroline and saw a tall blonde that took his breath away. He let go of Caroline and strode over to Darlene, picked up her hand and gently kissed it. "And you, my sweet, must be?"

"Married!" Darlene quickly pulled her hand away and tightened her robe around her. She noticed his eyes lingering on her breasts. "So hands off, Romeo." Even though she acted offended by his actions, she couldn't deny that the way he looked at her stirred something long dormant within her. She hadn't had a man look at her like that since...well, for a long, long time. She had men take interest in her all the time, but this man in front of her, looked at her that shook her to her soul. He resembled Blaise quite a bit; they both were tall, dark and handsome. But there was something about Stefan that made her breathe a little faster.

"Darlene Culpepper, this is my cousin Stefan Zabini," Blaise introduced. "Stefan, this is MRS. Darlene Culpepper. And the lovely little lady by the door is Rosie, Caroline sister."

"My pleasure." Stefan bowed slightly. "My apologies, Mrs. Culpepper. I didn't mean to offend you." Married or not, he made a promise to himself that he would get her in his bed sooner rather than later. There was a lot to Darlene Culpepper - big breasts, big hair, big attitude and that accent - and it was causing Stefan to think very impure thoughts about her.

Blaise sat down and pulled Caroline on his lap. "We need to talk, Blaise. It's about Isabella."

"Speaking of Isabella," Blaise interrupted her. He handed over the contracts and started explaining his plan to convert all his assets over to Julian and make Caroline his guardian.

To his surprise, Caroline tore up the contacts and threw the parchments in the fireplace. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He quickly reached over to the fireplace and took the pieces of parchment out of the fire before they were destroyed.

"You don't need those, Blaise," explained Caroline. "Isabella is a fraud!" She went on to explain what Narcissa had told her and what they found about the ring in one of the books in the library.

Blaise looked at her in disbelief. "You're shitting me."

"I shit you not!" She jumped off his lap and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going? We need to come up with a plan," said Blaise.

"I've got my own plan,"said Caroline, as she slammed the doors behind her. Caroline really didn't have a plan, but she hoped she'd come up with one by the time she reached Isabella's suite.

"This can't be good," Blaise mumbled as he shook his head.


End file.
